Class 

Book ^/VaT: 

(iopyitehi N'.' 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Bishop Jonathan Weaver.— 1900. 



BIOGRAPHY 

OF 

Jonathan Weaver, D.D. 



A BISHOP 
in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ 
for Thirty -five Years 



REV. H. A. THOMPSON, D.D., LL.D. 

With an Introduction 
b r BISHOP N. CASTLE, D.D. 




Dayton, Ohio 
United Brethren Publishing Home 
1901 



THE USRAffY OF 
CONGRESS, 

TWO COHfc<5 REC5I>/5D 

SEP, 4 1902 

COPVRIOMT ENTRY 

CLASS CLXXc. No. 
COPY S. 



Copyright, 1901 



"As a guest, who may not stay 
Long and sad farewells to say, 
Glides with smiling face away, 

"Of the sweetness and the zest 
Of thy happy life possessed. 
Thou hast left us at thy best. 

***** 

"Now that thou hast gone away, 
What is left of one to say 
Who was open as the day? 

* * * * * 

"Safe thou art on every side, 
Friendship nothing finds to hide, 
Love's demand is satisfied. 

***** 

"Keep for us, O friend, where'er 
Thou art waiting, all that here 
Made thy earthly presence dear; 

***** 

"And when fall our feet, as fell 
Thine, upon the asphodel, 
Let thy old smile greet us well ; 

"Proving in a world of bliss 
What we fondly dream in this,- 
Love is one with holiness !" 



Ml 



PREFACE. 



At the request of the executive committee of the Board 
of Missions, we have sought to gather together and ar- 
range in consecutive order the important facts in con- 
nection with the life of Bishop Jonathan Weaver, so the 
Church might know more clearly the life he lived and the 
work he wrought. To do this in the brief space of time 
allotted was no easy task; especially, when it is remem- 
bered that during his long and eventful life he kept not 
a line of diary, which would have given definite informa- 
tion as to his whereabouts at any particular time. In his 
earlier years he did not see the importance of it. He did 
not anticipate such honor as the Church conferred upon 
him. He was more concerned in the making than in the 
recording of history. In his later years, it seemed as if 
to keep a diary then would be a little immodest. 

Then, too, he never kept a copy of a single letter which 
he wrote to any one, which might have helped to fix dates, 
or to show the trend of his thoughts at certain periods. 
Nor did he keep the letters written to him by other par- 
ties ; some of them were unkind and severe, and, in mercy 
to the writer, he did not wish others to see them. Com- 
pelled to move about as he was, these files of letters, be- 
coming bulky, were destroyed whenever he prepared to 
move; so it is easy to see that his biographer could not 
get much help from any of these sources. 

He was, however, a frequent writer for the Telescope, 
and in these communications he mentions not a few things 



vi 



Preface 



in connection with his earlier life. He gives, in these, 
very fully and freely his views of life and of church polity. 
We have carefully examined all these Telescopes of past 
years, making note of his communications. We have cor- 
responded with acquaintances and friends, and thus re- 
ceived many facts which throw side-lights on an interest- 
ing life. 

In short, we have allowed Bishop Weaver, as far as 
possible, to tell the story of his own life, and express his 
opinions in his own words. It is too much to think that 
we have made no mistakes. We have sought, however, to 
deal faithfully and honestly with the record he has made. 
An intimate personal acquaintance of a number of years, 
beginning when he was an agent, has helped us, in a meas- 
ure, to interpret him. We hope the material has been so 
adjusted as to give the average reader a fair and intelli- 
gent conception of the life he lived, and the manner in 
which he wrought for the Church he loved. Let us be 
stirred by its record to high and holy endeavors, and seek 
to follow him in so far as he followed the Master. 

"Gone before us, O our brother, 
To the spirit land, 
Vainly look we for another 
In thy place to stand." 



CONTENTS 



PA.QB 



Poem, - -- - - - -- -- Hi 

Preface, v 

Introduction, ix 

CHAPTER I. 

Ancestry— Parentage— Birth, 19 

CHAPTER II. 

A Boy in School— 1830-1840, 31 

CHAPTER in. 
His Conversion, 46 

CHAPTER IV. 
A Preacher in Charge, ------- 58 

CHAPTER V. 

A College Agent, 76 

CHAPTER VI. 
A College Agent, Completed, 100 

CHAPTER VII. 
Becomes a Bishop— 1865, 117 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Becomes a Bishop, Continued, 137 

CHAPTER IX. 
Second Term as Bishop, 1869-1873, 152 

CHAPTER X. 

Second Term as Bishop, Completed, - - - - 172 

CHAPTER XI. 
Public Discussions, 187 

vii 



Contents 



Pack 

CHAPTER XII. 
Third Election as Bishop— 1873 203 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Fourth Election as Bishop— 1877, - 216 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Fifth Election as Bishop— 1881, 235 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Gathering Storm, 269 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The Battle of the Giants— 1885, 279 

CHAPTER XVII. 
The Work of the Commission Explained and De- 
fended— 1886-1888, 301 

CHAPTER XVIIL 
Before the Courts, -------- 323 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Chosen Bishop Emeritus— 1893, 335 

CHAPTER XX. 
How He Used His Pen, 347 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Growing Old, 365 

CHAPTER XXII. 
A Voice from Beulah Land, - - - - 382 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

How Men Will Think of Him, - 403 

( 1 ) As a Man, ------- 403 

(2) As a Preacher, - - - - - 412 

(3) Asa Bishop, 421 

Sermons: 

Change Yokes, 437 

Winning Souls, ------- 453 



INTRODUCTION. 



When a great and eventful life closes its earthly career, 
and passes down under the shadows of death, we at once 
fall to asking how such a life may best be rescued from 
the oblivion of the grave, and how turned to the service of 
continued usefulness in the memory of the living. When 
the highest prophecies of a life are fulfilled, and its high- 
est hopes and plans realized, and in the memory of the 
living must ever be regarded a success, it would be a very 
grave neglect to permit such a career to perish from the 
annals of the church. It should be relived and reenacted, 
as nearly as possible, in future time. When a life has 
been in harmony with the true, the good, the beautiful, 
blameless in conduct, radiant with hope, yielding in serv- 
ice to the divine will, and given to others in the broadest 
philanthropy, shall death conquer and the grave hide such 
a life in oblivion? Is death to end all, and thus rob the 
world of a salutary influence and a noble example? Is 
all to be buried from sight, and are no reminders to sur- 
vive this solemn eclipse? 

There is a provision in nature that nothing be lost. 
Though we are born to die, "and be as water spilt on the 
ground," yet, like the water, the pious dead are to con- 
tinue their ministry of good to the living. "Their works 
do follow them." Influence is imperishable. All our 
principles and all our actions are like so many threads 
of gold, the spinning of which is continued from genera- 

ix 



X 



Introduction 



tion to generation. It is the mission of the historian and 
the biographer to gather up these shining threads and 
weave them into a garment of beauty and praise. As in 
nature, so in influential life, God has unmistakably meant 
"the survival of the fittest," Future ages are to read the 
records and be influenced by the deeds of the noble and 
true of to-day. The lives that are embalmed in the sacred 
records have a more enduring memory than the splendid 
mausoleum or colossal monument can give. Marble will 
crumble, bronze will corrode, and canvas will fade, but 
the life associated with the now risen Christ is thereby 
made immortal. So Jesus said of the woman that anointed 
him, "Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the 
whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath 
done, be told for a memorial of her.'' "The righteous shall 
be in everlasting remembrance." "And they that turn 
many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and 
ever." 

Mankind is not to be robbed of the salutary influence of 
a good life. Such a life is to live on, and repeat itself by 
many times its natural and earthly length. What a privi- 
lege given to the living to thus lengthen out the years 
and extend the usefulness of those they love! Here is 
the noble mission of biography. It, in a measure, puts 
into enduring form the influence of lives that have blessed 
the world. Such reading is often more fascinating than 
a romance. Who that has read "The Dairyman's Daugh- 
ter," by Leigh Richmond, containing an account of the 
brief days of a humble peasant girl, does not know the 
charm of such tender records ? So of the lives of the more 
distinguished. 

The law of association has a wonderful sway over human 
life. This is a wise economy of God in our nature. It 
prompts to provisions against loss in a world where every- 



Introduction 



xi 



thing is so fitful and fleeting. When the Israelites passed 
the swelling flood in triumph in their journey to Canaan, 
twelve stones were made voiceful of the event. The Egyp- 
tian obelisks, the statue of William Tell, Pompey's Pillar 
on the Alexandrian Hill, Bunker Hill Monument at 
Charlestown, and the mausoleum of General Grant at 
Kiverside Park, New York, are all striking and illustra- 
tive memorials. They take the place of the human tongue, 
and to a vivid imagination are full of meaning. The 
form may be unpretentious, but rich in significance. 

The effort to make abiding the life and labors of emi- 
nent churchmen is worthy of careful study. It is not a 
trivial thing, that we may dismiss with little thought and 
effort. It is a work of loving service to put up a memorial 
at the grave of one who fell asleep in Jesus. A believer 
"being dead yet speaketh." This is true of the Old Testa- 
ment dead. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews opens up 
a wonderful perspective. Here Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abra- 
ham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Samuel, and a 
host of others, appear in marvelous history, romance, and 
biography. Back to these the Hebrew mind ever turned. 
The fathers were to repeat these histories to their children, 
and thereby incite them to nobility of character. What 
a blessing to Israel that they had such biographies to re- 
hearse! Such memories are blessed. 

I am sure that in the life of Bishop Jonathan Weaver, 
D. D., the Church has a memory worthy of cherishing, 
perpetuating, and rehearsing to coming generations. If 
it were for the sole purpose of making him known to the 
Church of the United Brethren in Christ in America, or, 
for that matter, beyond the seas, a biography would be 
unnecessary. His life is too well and too widely known 
for this. 

It is too early since his departure to rightly estimate his 



Introduction 



value to the Church and the cause of truth. We have 
hardly wakened to the conscious realization that he has 
gone from us. This will come to us more and more as the 
years multiply between us and the sad event. He was 
a conspicuous figure in our midst, and impressed his per- 
sonality very widely on the Church, molding and shaping 
its organic life to a degree beyond that of any other one 
in his day. A member of the Church for the period of 
over half a century, and a prominent participant in all 
its leading interests, working with great singleness of 
purpose and an unflagging energy through all his years, 
made him one of the most striking and characteristic per- 
sonages of his time. 

He was a leader among men. Entering the ministry 
of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ when 
there was an early and growing demand for true leader- 
ship, and with this element largely in his nature, though 
unconscious to himself, he easily succeeded to this position 
early in his official career. Had his calling been in the 
line of the politician or the statesman, he would have dis- 
tinguished himself and taken first rank as a leader. His 
splendid leadership in the Church rendered possible, in 
very large measure, the great achievements it has made in 
recent years. 

Bishop Weaver deserves to be classed among the great 
men of his day. He is easily accorded this distinction in 
a physical sense. Few men were more conspicuous and 
princely in physical bearing. Tall, erect, and stately to 
a degree far beyond the ordinary, he, in any company, 
became the cynosure of all eyes. 

He was great in intellect. Without the culture of the 
schools, he, nevertheless, succeeded to a well-rounded, thor- 
oughly capable, and preeminently efficient ministry of the 
word. His sermons were rich in theological thought, 



Introduction 



xiii 



fortified and embellished by strong logic and fine illustra- 
tion. They were always edifying to the people. "The 
common people heard him gladly." 

He often championed the cause of truth in the field 
of debate, and it may be said of him that he never meas- 
ured swords with his antagonist without carrying away 
the laurels of the victor. Orthodoxy and Protestant, evan- 
gelical religion never cowered or lost when he was in the 
defense. With a massive brain, and an intellect keen, 
penetrative, incisive, and of great activity and force, he 
easily held the mastery in the theological arena. He kept 
himself well informed in the current literature and re- 
ligious thought of the time, and seemed never lacking 
in the knowledge essential to the defense of his positions. 
Quite a favorite expression with him, during the years of 
his controversies, was the statement of the Apostle Paul, 
"I am set for the defense of the gospel." 

Bishop Weaver was, in a sense, a pioneer in the Church 
of his choice. He belonged to the skirmish line of the 
army of religious and spiritual conquest. He helped to 
kindle the beacon-fires on the hilltops of religious thought, 
to blaze the way through tangled forests of difficulty, to 
discover and point out the fords and construct bridges 
across what to others seemed impassable rivers, to find 
the sites for great religious enterprises, and aid in their 
founding. He belonged to the true architects and builders 
of churches and nations. 

As a speaker and writer, he excelled. The pulpit was the 
throne of his power. The gospel message fell from a fire- 
lit tongue, and rolled in volume like the billows of the 
sea. His terminology, always of the simplest, made him 
the delight of any audience, and put him in happy relation 
with both the scholar and the unlettered. Childhood never 
wearied of hearing him, and it may be said that he called 



xiv 



Introduction 



them unto him and blessed them. No difference what the 
grade of intelligence among his hearers, all were instructed 
and impressed. His sermons were doctrinal, evangelical, 
and warmly revivalistic. While his style was vigorous 
and transparent, it was never nervous. He was the most 
cool and self-possessed of men. He had perfect command 
of himself. He ruled his own spirit. 

This excellent type of ministry was maintained down 
to the latest period of it. If any difference, it was richer 
and riper in thought, mellower and deeper in spirit, com- 
ing as from out the invisible glory. The echoes of some 
of his words are still in the hearts of those that hung 
upon his lips in his later ministry, and eternity alone will 
tell the glory and usefulness of such a ministry. 

His sermons were always full of Christ. He gave him 
the largest place, the most prominence of all. Every 
thought, every illustration, all imagery gathered around 
Christ, awaiting his bidding as to the service to be ren- 
dered. The preacher's heart and brain seemed filled and 
crowded with this wonderful personage. He never allowed 
anything to crowd Christ out of his sermon or out of his 
own life. This was the secret of his power and of his 
attraction. He lifted up Christ and held him before a 
perishing world. This will be very apparent to the reader 
as he traces his life in his biography and reads some of 
his sermons and addresses that are published therein. 

As a writer on religious subjects, he was one of the most 
fascinating as well as edifying. The spirit that pervaded 
his sermons breathed through his written productions. 
His pen was always ablaze with the old-time gospel and 
old-time revival fire. His writings were models of purity 
of thought and expression. He was self-made, but so well 
and gracefully made as to leave no unsightly scars. A 
ready wit, that never had a sting, and a humor that never 



Introduction 



xv 



appealed to an unworthy sentiment, made all his writings, 
as well as his conversations, pleasingly popular. He was 
primitive in the spirit of the gospel, while he was modern 
and progressive in its statement and in his adaptation to 
present-day conditions and needs. 

He was thoroughly orthodox in his creed. He had no 
faith in the agnosticism of the day. He knew he had 
something beneath him on which to stand, and something 
above him to which to hold. He felt the power of this 
certainty within, when in the pulpit, and it often trans- 
figured his face to the glow of a soft summer sunset. 

In charity, he was broad and unbounded. While he 
loved his own Church, he courted fellowship with every 
soldier of our Lord Jesus Christ. This led him, by urgent 
invitation, into leading pulpits of other churches, where 
he was always popular, and in great demand. Who ever 
heard him utter an ungenerous word or a harsh invective 
against a fellow-Christian? 

Occasions were not wanting, possibly, during his long 
association with men, and during seasons of heated discus- 
sion on questions regarded vital to the interests of the 
Church, for the exercise of sharp and biting sarcasm. But 
who ever heard it from his lips ? He was always courteous 
and genial, affable and dignified on all occasions, however 
provoking an occasion might be. He was true to his 
friends, he was not unkind to official enemies. It seemed 
that nothing changed his spirit or his manner. His de- 
portment was always the same — unaffected, simple, honest, 
candid, seeking no advantage, displaying no pomp or 
pride, no ostentation in public or private life, always a 
plain, open-hearted Christian. 

In counsel, he was one of the wisest and most reliable, 
especially in matters pertaining to the affairs of the 
Church. For the period of thirty-six years he had the 



xvi 



Introduction 



hearty approval, every four years, of the General Confer- 
ence. His administration as bishop was always eminently 
satisfactory, so that his official character is as much a 
legacy to the Church as was his active service. His wis- 
dom seemed adequate to the correct decision of nearly 
every question submitted to him. The Church will readily 
recall some of the most important questions that have ever 
been brought before its council boards upon which his 
opinion was required. In the chair, as presiding officer, 
he was always found adequate to every exigency that 
might arise. It is safe to say that none of his associates 
ever gave higher satisfaction in this than did he. 

He was permitted to live beyond the scriptural limit of 
human life. While this would not be a blessing to all, 
in this case length of days was a blessing to the Church 
and the world. His memory was strong, his intellectual 
faculties clear, and his judgment unimpaired to the last. 
His strength in these respects was unabated. 

Now, it is eminently proper that a character so con- 
spicuous in our Church life, and one that has so largely 
shaped its polity for the last quarter of a century, should 
have his memory perpetuated and his influence continued 
and extended to the largest degree possible. With a view 
to this his biography has been written. This will unfold 
in successive chapters this great life. The reader will be 
charmed as he traces it through the various stages of evo- 
lution, or growth, from its primitive and rugged beginning 
to its ripened maturity. Such a life and such a record as 
are here given will be read by thousands of admiring ones, 
who will readily associate them in memory with the most 
important period and achievements of the Church in the 
past. 

This biography will add another rich and treasured vol- 
ume to the growing literature of the Church, the perusal 



Introduction 



xvii 



of which, we may hope, will be a great stimulus to both old 
and young, both in the ministry and in the laity, leading 
to larger loyalty to God and duty, and the achievement of 
nobility of character here, and finally of eternal life here- 
after. N. Castle. 
Philomath, Oregon, April 25, 1901, 

2 



BIOGRAPHY OF JONATHAN 

WEAVER. 



CHAPTER I. 
Ancestry — Parentage — Birth. 

Says Oliver Wendell Holmes: "Each of us is 
only the footing of a double column of figures that 
goes back to the first pair. Every unit tells, and 
some of them are plus and some minus. If the col- 
umns do not add up right, it is commonly because we 
cannot make out all the figures." 

The ancestry of Ralph Waldo Emerson was re- 
markable for a long succession of clergymen in its 
genealogy, and for the large numbers of college grad- 
uates encountered in its rolls. Says one, "If the 
ideas of parents survive as impressions or tenden- 
cies in their descendants, no man had a better right 
to an inheritance of theological instincts than this 
representative of a long line of ministers." Emer- 
son himself believed in the transmission from parent 
to child of certain characteristics. He says: 
"Though nature appears capricious, some qualities 
she carefully fixes or transmits, but some of those, 

19 



20 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



and those the finer, she exhales with the health of 
the individual as too costly to perpetuate. But I 
notice, also, that they may become fixed and perma- 
nent in any stock by planting and replanting them 
on every individual, until, at last, nature adopts them 
and bakes them on her porcelain." 

Dr. Elam, in "A Physician's Problems," says: 
"The idiot almost always engenders idiots; no man 
of talent ever had an imbecile or an idiot for his 
father or mother. It is a matter of daily observa- 
tion that the ordinary run of children have about 
the same intellectual capacities as their parents, one 
or both ; the education may be different, but the orig- 
inal nature seems to be about the same standard. 
. . . The two Scaligers, the two Vossiuses, the 
two Herschels, the two Coleridges, the Malesherbes, 
the father and son Montesquieu, the two Sheridans, 
and the Kemble family furnish additional illustra- 
tions as to how frequently talent is allied to talent. 
Mirabeau, the father, contained, so to speak, Mira- 
beau, the tribune. The family of iEschylus num- 
bered eight poets. The father of Torquato Tasso 
had the gift as his son had the genius of verse. This 
sort of succession of gift or ability in the family, 
followed by genius in the son, is not rare. Flaxman 
was the son of a molder of plaster casts. Thor- 
waldsen, the rival of Canova, was a son of a poor 
sculptor. Kaphael's father was himself a painter. 
The mother of Vandyke had a talent for painting. 
Parmigiano was of a family of painters; so was 
Titian ; so is Horace Vernet The father of Mozart 



His Ancestry 



21 



was a violinist of some reputation; his children in- 
herited part of his talent. Beethoven was the son 
of a tenor singer. A whole host of composers have 
emanated from the family of Bach." 1 

"I have a feeling/' wrote Emerson, "that every 
man's biography is at his own expense. He fur- 
nishes not only the facts, but the report. I mean 
that all biography is autobiography. It is only what 
he tells of himself that comes to be known and be- 
lieved." . This is true of our subject, as of all others. 
What we know of him we must learn from what he 
has written of himself, or what we have learned by 
associating with him. This is just as true of his 
ancestry. They were common people, whose names 
were never emblazoned on the roll of fame. They 
were not in the councils of kings, nor did they lead the 
armies of the nation. They were not the leaders 
of fashionable society, whose deeds were paraded in 
the columns of the fashionable newspapers, nor the 
pampered millionaires, whose word ruled the mar- 
kets of the state. They were plain, unlettered peo- 
ple, whom God must have loved, as some one says, 
for he placed so many of them here. They secured 
a little piece of land, and went to work to erect a 
modest home, and to bring up the children whom 
God gave them, teaching them to be good citizens, 
to fear God, to obey the law, and to love their fellow- 
men. They were nature's noblemen, who bowed the 
knee to none, and acknowledged no master save the 
King of kings. 

1 "A Physician's Problems," p. 36. 



22 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Bishop Weaver's grandfather on his father's side 
came from Germany, about the year 1750, and for 
a time lived in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, He 
was a member of the Lutheran Church. Speaking of 
the influx of Germans about this time, Dr. Drury 
says : "From the general oppression and discontent, 
it is easy to see. that large numbers would flock to the 
new land. The great majority sought homes in Penn- 
sylvania. Here they constituted about one-third of 
the population, occupying almost exclusively some 
parts of the country. In 1751, it was estimated that 
in Pennsylvania there was a German population of 
ninety thousand, thirty thousand of the number be- 
ing traditionally attached to the Reformed Church. 
The Germans were without a knowledge of the lan- 
guage of the provinces, and, to a large extent, with- 
out pastors and schools. The time of many of the 
Germans was sold for a term of years to pay their 
passage money. The most of them had come from 
homes of the peasant class. 

"Though in their new situation they were gener- 
ally industrious and thrifty, the condition of religion 
among them became the most deplorable. The Ger- 
man immigrants brought little in the form of re- 
ligious help with them, and they found the least in 
their new settlements that would guard and nourish 
spiritual life. In their homes in Europe, religion 
was too often an outward form; and now, in these 
wilderness homes, in their unwillingness to part with 
all religion, it was, to a great extent, a mere dead 
form that they made more or less effort to establish. 



His Ancestry 



23 



Their minds were hardened by the treatment they 
had met; their energies were taxed in the straggle 
to build homes and secure subsistence, and the very 
atmosphere of the new world encouraged a wild and 
reckless life." 1 

In 1751, the town of Lancaster contained five hun- 
dred houses and two thousand inhabitants. It was 
not until 1792 that the turnpike was located between 
Philadelphia and Lancaster — the first located in that 
country, and not until several years later was it 
completed. There was not even a passenger stage 
route between these places before 1784. Thus we see 
how unsubdued and new the country was. 

About 1752, his grandfather removed to west* 
em Pennsylvania, and took up his residence in Wash- 
ington County. The grandfather on Bishop Weaver's 
mother's side was a native of this county, but the 
place of his birth cannot now be definitely ascer- 
tained. He was of German origin, and settled in an 
early day in Washington County, Pennsylvania. 

This was in part settled by Scotch-Irish, who were 
inclined to the Presbyterian faith. A young Pres- 
byterian clergman, who came there in 1778 to look 
after the spiritual wants of the people, and who be- 
came the founder of the first college west of the Alle- 
ghenies, leaves this record: "When I came to this 
county, the cabin in which I was to live was raised, 
but there was no roof on it, nor chimney, nor floor in 
it. The people, however, were very kind, assisted 
me in preparing my house, and on the 15th of De- 

»Life of Otterbein, pp. 60, 61. 



24 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



cember I moved into it. But we had neither bed- 
stead, nor table, nor chair, nor stove, nor pail, nor 
bucket; all these things we had to leave behind us, 
there being no wagon road at that time over the 
mountains ; we could bring nothing with us but what 
was carried on pack-horses. We placed two boxes 
on each other, which served for a table ; and two kegs 
served for seats ; and, having committed ourselves to 
God in family worship, we spread a bed on the floor 
and slept soundly until morning. The next day, a 
neighbor coming to my assistance, we made a table 
and a stool, and in a little time had everything com- 
fortable about us. Sometimes, indeed, we had no 
bread for weeks together; but we had plenty of 
pumpkins and potatoes, and all the necessaries of 
life, and as for luxuries, we were not much concerned 
about them. We enjoyed health, the gospel and its 
ordinances, and pious friends. We were in the place 
w T here we believed God would have us to be, and we 
did not doubt he would provide everything necessary, 
and, glory to his name, we were not disappointed." 1 

To have journeyed from Lancaster to western 
Pennsylvania a quarter of a century before this, in 
the midst of the privations which they must have 
encountered, took no little pluck and energy. 

The father and mother of our subject were both 
born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and in 
the same .year. USTo record was kept of these events, 
or, if there was any, it has long since been lost, 
but it was about the year 1775. They were mar- 

• Rev. Dr. McMillan. 



His Ancestry 



25 



ried in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1798. 
They went to Carroll County, Ohio, about 1810. 
This was very soon after Ohio was admitted into 
the Union as a State. Like almost all of their 
neighbors, they were uneducated. They could read 
and write in the German language, and learned 
to read and write in English after they were 
married. Ohio was a wild section then, with won- 
derful possibilities. When Ohio was admitted to 
the Union, in 1803, it had but 60,000 population. 
"The feeble and remote beginnings in Ohio's history 
hardly prepare us to comprehend the remarkable 
growth in everything that goes to make up civilized 
life. For several years the cost of transportation 
checked the settlers by limiting them to a domestic 
market. The only means they had of communicating 
with occasional markets was by pack-horses. The first 
railroad was open in 1838, to connect Dayton with 
Sandusky, and was completed in 1841. The men 
who came here at this early day were usually men 
of sterling character. They possessed a spirit of in- 
dustry, integrity, and the fear of God. They came 
into the country without wealth, but they had what 
was far better — noble purposes, elevated aspirations, 
and a firm faith in God. Our history is the outcome 
of what was folded up in the nature of these pioneers. 

"Their toilsome journey to their future homes was 
made without a road to guide them. They entered 
a dreary and unbroken forest, to find no hotel, and 
were often separated by miles from their nearest 
neighbor. 'Their first necessity,' says Rufus King, 



26 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



'was to girdle the trees and grub a few acres for a 
corn crop and a truck patch sufficient for the season. 
As soon as the logs were cut, a cabin was built with 
the aid of neighbors. But food rather than shelter 
was the severest want of the pioneers. True, the 
woods were full of game, but venison, turkey, and 
bear meat all the time became tiresome enough. 
There was no bread or salt. The scanty salt springs 
were therefore precious. The Indian corn, when 
once started, was the chief reliance for man and 
beast. The furniture of the cabins and the dress of 
the people necessarily partook of the same absolutely 
rustic simplicity. Excellent tables, cupboards, and 
benches were made of poplar and beech boards. The 
buckeye furnished not only bowls and platters for all 
who had no tin or queensware, but also the split- 
bottom chair, still in popular use. Bearskins were 
bed and bedding. The deerskin, dressed and un- 
dressed, was very much used for clothing; and the 
skins of the raccoon and rabbit formed a favorite 
headgear. But wool and flax soon abounded, and 
spinning-wheels and looms became standard articles 
in every home. The home-made tow, linen, and wool- 
ens, or mixed flannels, linseys, or jeans, constituted 
the chief materials for clothing.' 

"They grew in character and power because they 
were ready to defend and preserve what their labor 
had secured. They wrestled and struggled against 
physical forces, severity of climate, fierceness of 
beasts, and the hostility and brutality of savages. 
These struggles strengthen ed character, nourished 



His Ancestry 



27 



manhood, and incited to heroic deeds. From harsh, 
sterile conditions men have gone forth conspicuous 
for energy and valor. The early pioneers not only 
heroically struggled in all the expeditions in their 
aggressive warfare against the Indians, but, in 
1812, Ohio was called upon to help engage in the 
disastrous and bloody war against Great Britain. 
Three regiments were first sent into the field. The 
following year, several brigades of militia were called 
out to resist the British invasions. This war caused 
great sacrifice. An eye-witness described the coun- 
try as depopulated of men, and the farmer women, 
weak and sickly as they often were, and surrounded 
by their helpless little children, were obliged, for 
want of bread, to till their fields, until, frequently, 
they fell exhausted and dying under the toil to which 
they were unequal. The horrors and fearful suffer- 
ings of the first year of the war can never be for- 
gotten by the people of that generation." 1 

Bishop Weaver's father was about six feet tall, and 
quite slender, but remarkably active when young. He 
possessed a robust constitution ; was naturally a kind- 
hearted man, and, as a result, always lived peaceably 
with his neighbors. He was a farmer, hence at this 
day his life was one of toil and exposure. He had 
the reputation among his neighbors of being strictly 
honest and disposed to render to every man what was 
his due. He was an upright, moral man, setting a 
good example to his neighbors, but not what we call 
religious. He was careful, however, about the proper 

1 Barker's "Ohio Methodism." 



28 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



observance of the Sabbath, and taught his children 
to be the same. He never indulged in profane lan- 
guage. He was in every respect a good, faithful, 
honest citizen. He was somewhat fond of books and 
papers, of which there were but few in the neighbor- 
hood, and as few in his own home. He was not so 
strong intellectually as was the mother. He had 
quite a vein of humor in his nature, and enjoyed 
the little jokes made by others, rather than any of 
his own making. He was quite companionable with 
his children, not self-willed, and as they grew older, 
he would advise and counsel with them, and often 
be guided by their advice. He was converted when 
about sixty years of age, and died when he was about 
sixty-three. Previous to this time, however, he had 
lived a moral, upright life. 

The mother of Bishop Weaver was a devout woman, 
of no little intellectual vigor. She was always inclined 
to religious ways, but was not converted until about 
sixty years of age. She was always a faithful, per- 
sistent Bible reader. She was thus able to give her son 
much insight into spiritual meaning. Erom the time 
of her conversion until her death, she was a very ear- 
nest, devoted Christian, and, during the later years 
of her life, most of her time was given to reading and 
prayer. After her conversion, she became the spir- 
itual director of the family. She established family 
worship, and aided her children, both by her teach- 
ing and her example. The children would aid in this 
worship as she desired. As she grew older, she be- 
came hard of hearing, so she would read the Scrip- 



His A?icestry 



29 



ture lesson, and the children would take turns in 
praying. She was a kindly-dispositioned woman, 
and her kindness toward the son was very remark- 
able, yet in his early boyhood she was as strict as 
a faithful mother should be, and required implicit 
obedience. 

The mother died May 9, 1867, at the age of sixty- 
seven. In a note to the Telescope concerning her 
death, Bishop Weaver says: "Twenty years ago, I 
took leave of my mother and her home to enter my 
first field of labor. Young and inexperienced, I 
scarcely knew what to do. What my feelings were, as 
mile after mile was left between myself and home, I 
need not attempt to describe. One thing, however, 
gave me consolation, and has given me comfort many 
a time. I knew that one who lived near to God was 
praying for me. Some o,ne might say this was but 
a trifle, but to me it was a blessed consolation. Dur- 
ing these twenty years that I have spent in the min- 
istry, I have always held sacred in my memory this 
thought, 'Mother prays for me.' You may call me 
weak, but I promise to go to my grave with the fond 
and dearly cherished recollections of a kind Christian 
mother. ... I do not claim that mother was 
perfect, but this I will say, that for twenty years I 
have not seen nor heard of a fault. She was ac- 
quainted with the Holy Scriptures as but few are. 
I do not remember ever asking for a passage of the 
Scriptures but that she could turn to it at once." 

Into this family were born six boys and six girls, 
so that Bishop Weaver was the youngest of twelve 



30 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



children, being born February 23, 1824. All of them 
except one lived to manhood and womanhood. All 
of them have gone to the world beyond except the 
one next older than he, the widow of Rev. E. Slutts, 
living at Canaan Center, Ohio, in the seventy-ninth 
year of her age. 



CHAPTER II. 



A Boy in School.— 1830-1840. 

Me. Johnson, who was the representative from 
Carroll County, where Weaver lived, to the Ohio 
Legislature, in 1838, when Weaver was fourteen 
years of age, made an address before an educational 
convention, held in Columbus, Ohio, that year, from 
which we make the following extract: "I well re- 
member when I used to make three miles, with the 
snow about my little knees, to the distant schoolhouse. 
The population was sparse and poor. Our school- 
house was built of logs, without glass windows, but 
with plenty of inlets between the logs for air and 
light; our chimney was of wood. It always took 
the whole time of one boy to pile on fuel enough to 
keep us any ways warm, and the whole time of an- 
other to pour water down the chimney to keep the 
house from taking fire. Our teacher was a good 
man, and taught us all he knew ; but his attainments 
were not great. As to astronomy, he never had any 
other idea but that the earth was as flat as the plate 
on which he ate his breakfast ; and as to mathematics, 
the difference between the numerator and denomina- 
tor of a vulgar fraction was a mystery of science al- 
together beyond his depth. His plan was to begin 
with us at 'booby' in the spelling-book, and go on 

31 



32 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



with us regularly to the story of the Tox and the 
Bramble. ' Then, in the spring, summer, and fall, 
we were all set to work in the bushes, clearing up our 
farms, and before the next winter's school began, it 
was invariably found that we had all slipped back 
to 'booby' again. So it went on from year to year, 
and such was the only school, and such the only 
teacher I ever enjoyed. Well, I went to study law 
with a gentleman whom I now see in this assembly. 
But my teacher was a worthy man, — peace to his 
ashes, — and it was only last autumn that, with tears 
of grateful recollection, I put fresh sod over his 
grave. But all the people now expect us to do some- 
thing more to make our common schools efficient. 
When I had saddled my horse to come to this session 
of the Legislature, I saw an old gentleman approach- 
ing me who could neither read nor write. He was 
one of my constituents, and, seizing my hand, he ex- 
claimed, with deepest emotion: 'Do, Johnson, get 
something done for the school laws; let us have 
schools. This is the first desire of the people of my 
county, and they are ready to pay the expense.' " 

In 1837, a State School Department was estab- 
lished, and Hon. Samuel Lewis became the first State 
Superintendent. The most authentic history of the 
common schools of Ohio, from 1873 to 1840, is to be 
found in the three annual reports of Mr. Lewis, pub- 
lished under legislative authority. 

A prominent minister of this Church, who was 
born two years before Mr. Weaver, and not many 
miles away, wrote, in his old age, for a little friend 



A Boy in School 



33 



of his, an account of the schoolhouse where he went 
to school. When this description was read to Mr. 
Weaver, he said it was a very correct description of 
the time when he received the rudiments of the little 
that he knew. 

"The schoolhouse was made of round logs, notched 
down at the corners. The floor was made of punch- 
eons split out of large ash trees, as wide as the tree 
would make them, and hewed by a broad-ax on one 
side, and dressed on the edge to the mark of a straight- 
edge. The fire-chamber was at one end of the struc- 
ture, built of boulders, or, as some called them, 'nig- 
ger heads/ up as high as the mantel, then a crooked 
piece of timber, forming nearly a half-circle, sup- 
ported by one end on a beam, same width of cover- 
ing overhead, and the other on a log of the house 
about as high from the floor as a twelve-year-old boy's 
head when standing erect. From these supports the 
main chimney started, and was built with sticks and 
mud or mixed clay, one round of sticks being laid 
upon another, pressed firm in the mud, and plastered 
up well, inside and out, covering every stick to pro- 
tect it from the fire ; the stick was simply to support 
the clay. This was called a cat (or rat) and clay 
chimney. The place for the fire was very large, the 
logs of the building all being sawed off from jamb 
to jamb, and half as high up as the floor over our 
heads. The place for the fire was all beyond the 
square of the building, and the large boys would roll 
in logs three feet thick and full length of the fire- 
chamber, and another of less size on that, and still 

3 



34 



-Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



another smaller one, and then, added to these, a large 
fire-stick, with ends laid on the rocks, and then 
smaller pieces piled on top, until it seemed like a 
young log heap. This they called a 'rousing fire/ and 
so it was sometimes, when the front foundations 
would give way, and down it would come, tumbling 
on the clay hearth. 

"The door was of rough, sawed boards, hung on 
wooden hinges, and fastened with a wooden latch r 
and would always report, when opened, with a terrible 
screech. On the opposite side from the door, one 
log was cut out of the whole length of the buildings 
and in its place a window sash in several sections, 
with oiled paper in the place of glass. This was ta 
admit the light. Then the carpenter bored holes 
in the first log below the window, and drove in long 
pins slanting about forty-five degrees down from the 
wall, on which was placed a broad board, and this- 
was the writing-desk for the large scholars. There 
was also an oiled-paper window in the end opposite- 
the fire-chamber, and one on each side of the door. 
The other seats were made of slabs, with long pins 
put in auger holes, the pins resting on the floor, and. 
the little lads and lasses sat on them, with no backs 
except their own to support them. Occasionally, a 
little fellow's back would give way when he was 
asleep, and he would go back on the floor. This 
would create a sensation for a time, and relieve us 
from the monotony of study. These rude seats were 
arranged in front of the fire, and those that were 
first had the good of the fire. This building was 



A Boy in School 



35 



covered with 'clapboards/ laid on straight poles called 
ribs, and held to their place by other poles on the 
top called weight poles." 

Into these schoolhouses, and in the midst of these 
uncomfortable surroundings, came the boys and girls 
who were to be the future citizens of this great State, 
and among them was our hero. He says, in referring 
to these earlier years : "Around these huge fireplaces 
might have been seen from thirty to forty red wam- 
muses, each boy holding in his hand a copy of the 
United States Spelling Book, or else had his A B C's 
pasted on a paddle, and what added to the interest 
of the scene was the cracking of the whip over their 
backs, causing them to make some tremendous jumps. 
(I speak from experience.) The teachers in those 
days, or at least the majority of them, had never 
been through what was then the standard arithmetic, 
the Western Calculator.' Indeed, it was not neces- 
sary they should, for when a young man had ciphered 
to the ' Single Eule of Three/ he was considered 
a kind of graduate. Spelling, reading, writing, and 
arithmetic were all the teachers pretended to teach. 
The reading-books were the spelling-book and the 
New Testament" 

The summer school was usually taught by some 
lady who could be had for a moderate sum. She 
would go among the neighbors with a paper, termed 
a subscription, offering to teach a three-months' school 
for each pupil. If more than one pupil came from 
any one family, there was usually a reduction made 
in proportion to the number. Because of this method 



36 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



of procedure, this was called a "subscription school." 
For obvious reasons, this was only patronized by the 
smaller children. Those who were able to work were 
needed at homa The people were farmers, a good 
portion of their lands even yet in the woods. Trees 
had to be cut and ground cleared and prepared for the 
plow. These boys and girls could not only be very 
helpful in such work, but no doubt were greatly 
needed. There could be no luxuries until the men 
were able to live. JS'o doubt, in the minds of many 
of these people, ability to read a little, write a little, 
and know enough of arithmetic to keep their own ac- 
counts, was about all the average boy needed. The 
girls did not need as much, so in summer-time the 
young people were employed in developing the 
farm. 

When the farm work was done, then would begin 
the winter school, lasting, possibly, three months. 
Many of the children could not be sent promptly 
for lack of shoes, clothes, or on account of other hin- 
drances. Because of work to be done at home, or 
distance from school, they would not be on hand until 
ten o'clock ; many would be irregular. The slightest 
reason for detaining a pupil from school would be 
sufficient. Then it would require the teacher, if a 
new man, and it was usual to have a new man every 
term, to establish his rules and modes of instruction, 
which were generally different from those of his 
predecessor, so as to show that he had a plan of his 
own. 

In teaching the alphabet, it was customary for the 



A Boy in School 



37 



teacher to take his seat and point to the letters pre- 
cisely in the order in which they are placed in the 
book. If the pupil could name the letter, well; if 
not, he was told it To teach spelling, a lesson was 
assigned consisting of a certain number of columns 
of words arranged in alphabetical order, which the 
pupil was required to study over and over until he 
could recollect and spell them from memory. None 
of them were ever defined for him, nor was he re- 
quested to seek for definitions himself. No faculty 
was called into exercise but the memory. If a word 
was misspelled, the next pupil who could spell it was 
allowed to take his place, or "go above him," as it 
was called. He who was at the head of the class at 
evening had a credit mark, and sometimes a written 
certificate of good scholarship. Emulation and com- 
pulsion were the only motives to exertion. 

In teaching reading, the process was just as me- 
chanical. The teacher would read with the class in 
turn. Either himself or some of the advanced pupils 
would make the corrections. This meant only the 
right pronunciation of words and attention to the 
pauses. ]STo regard was paid to the tones, and little 
to emphasis and the proper inflections. "Read as 
you talk" was a rule seldom given, and less frequently 
practiced. 

In some places, the reading lesson would take on 
more importance. "One pupil read from the family 
Bible, another from Toor Richard's Almanac,' while 
still a third would read thrilling passages from some 
highly-prized volume, such as Captain John Riley's 



38 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

narrative of a shipwreck and captivity among the 
Arabs. The reader of the last chanced to possess 
some elocutionary power, and the whole school, 
teacher included, suspended operations, and, with 
open mouths and eyes, listened intently to the inter- 
esting narrative. Spelling and reading were, in some 
places, made specialties, and were regarded as the 
chief tests of scholarship. Spelling-matches were 
second only in importance to the schools themselves. 
These were usually held at night, and were attended 
by old and young. A ride, or, more frequently, a 
walk of six miles, was an obstacle easily surmounted 
by persons wishing to enjoy the competition or wit- 
ness the discomfiture of a rival school when its best 
champion was spelled down." 1 

Beginners in writing usually had a copy of straight 
marks. Over the top of the next page, the teacher 
wrote a line in large hand, which the pupil was re- 
quired to imitate. One-half of a page of foolscap 
was then a common task in writing. The copies were 
in alphabetical order, and during the first year gen- 
erally of a coarse hand. 

Arithmetic was taught in no better way. Some- 
times the teacher wrote problems on the slate for the 
pupil to solve. As soon as old enough to use a book, 
these were solved on the slate, and carried to the 
teacher, who usually asked, "Did you get the an- 
swer?" and if the response was in the affirmative, 
nothing further was said. No explanation of the 

""Education in Ohio," p. 90. 



A Boy in School 



39 



principles involved or methods used was thought to 
be necessary. 

Henry Ward Beecher, born in 1813, in Connecti- 
cut, where the schools were infinitely better than 
those attended by Mr. Weaver, a score of years later 
in Ohio, then the far West, leaves this memory of 
his experiences in the district school: "We read 
and spelt twice a day, unless something happened 
to prevent, which did happen almost every other day. 
For the rest of the time, we were busy in keeping 
still, and a time we always had of it. Our shoes 
always would be scraping on the floor, or knocking 
the shins of urchins who were also being educated. 
All of our little legs together (poor, tired, nervous, 
restless legs with nothing to do) would fill up the 
corner with such a noise, that every ten or fifteen 
minutes the master would bring down his two-foot 
hickory ferule on the desk with a clap that sent the 
shivers through our hearts to think how that would 
have felt if it had fallen somewhere else; and then, 
with a look that swept us all into utter extremity of 
stillness, he would cry, 'Silence in that corner !' 
, . . Besides this, our principal business was to 
shake and shiver at the beginning of the school for 
very cold, and to sweat and stew for the rest of the 
time before the fervid glances of a great fire. 

"A woman kept the school, sharp, precise, unsym- 
pathetic, keen and untiring. Of all ingenious ways 
of fretting little boys, doubtless her ways were the 
most expert. Not a tree to shelter the house, the sun 
beat down on the shingles and clapboards till the pine 



40 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



knots shed pitchy tears. The desks were cut, hacked, 
and scratched; but if we cut a morsel, or stuck in 
pins, or plucked off splinters, the little sharp-eyed 
mistress was on hand, and one look of her eye was 
worse than a sliver in our foot, and one rap of her 
fingers was equal to the jab of a pin, for we had tried 
both. 

"We envied the flies — merry fellows, bouncing 
about, tasting that apple-skin, patting away at that 
crumb of bread; now out of the window, then in 
again; on your nose, on neighbor's cheek, off to the 
very schoolma'am's lips ; dodging her slap, and then 
telling off a real round-and-round buzz, up, down, 
this way, that way, and every way. The windows 
were so high we could not see the grassy meadows; 
but we could see the tops of the distant trees and 
the far deep, boundless blue sky. There flew the 
robins, there went the bluebirds, and there went we. 
We followed that old polyglot, the skunk blackbird, 
and heard him describe the way that they talked at 
the winding up of the Tower of Babel. We thanked 
every meadow-lark that sung, rejoicing as it flew. 
Now and then a chipping bird would flutter on the 
very window-sill, turning its little head sidewise and 
peering on the medley of boys and girls. Long before 
we knew it was in Scripture, we sighed, 'Oh, that we 
had the wings of a bird ; we would fly away and be 
out of this hateful school.' As for learning, the sum 
of all that we ever got at a district school would not 
cover the first ten letters of the alphabet. One good, 
kind, story-telling, Bible-rehearsing aunt at home, 



A Boy in School 



41 



with apples and gingerbread premiums, is worth all 
the schoolma'ams that ever stood by to see poor lit- 
tle fellows roast in those boy-traps called district 
schools." 

The teaching of the schools in the eastern part of 
Ohio, was, in some respects, better than those in 
the southwestern part, because, for the most part, 
this section was settled by people from New Eng- 
land. Of those in the southwestern part, a writer 
says: "The few schools established in this section 
were taught by cripples, worn-out old men, and 
women physically unable or constitutionally too lazy 
to scotch hemp or spin flax. Educational sentiment 
was at a low ebb, and demanded from the instructors 
of children no higher qualifications than could be 
furnished by the merest tyro. The teacher was re- 
garded as a kind of pensioner on the bounty of the 
people, whose presence was tolerated only because 
county infirmaries were not then in existence. The 
capacity of a teacher to teach was never a reason for 
employing him ; but the fact that he could do nothing 
else was a satisfactory one. The people's demand 
for education was fully met when their children could 
write a tolerably legible hand, when they could read 
the Bible or an almanac, and when they were so far 
inducted into the mysterious computation of num- 
bers as to be able to determine the value of a load 
of farm produce. This crude instruction was deemed 
amply sufficient; more than this was regarded as 
dangerous, since the idea had gained currency that 
education made boys lazy and tricky. It was also 



£2 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

a popular belief that young ladies who were apt with 
pen or pencil were in imminent danger of falling 
an easy prey to some designing knave who might en- 
trap them by an epistolary correspondence which 
could never be detected by an illiterate mother. Girls 
seldom learned to write. 

"The mode of government was simple. Moral 
suasion was not recognized by the early schoolmaster 
as an important element in school management. The 
neighboring forests were filled with fine sprouts 
which were regarded as just the thing to sharpen the 
wits and brighten the moral perceptions of a pupil. 
Hickory oil was known to be a good lubricator for 
the mental friction of a schoolboy, and its use in lib- 
eral quantities by the master or mistress was rarely 
the subject of complaint or criticism on the part of 
parents." 

Bishop Weaver says of his early experience with 
his teachers : "They did not know very much, and 
thought they could do as they pleased. Punishments 
were severe ; there did not seem to be much notion of 
governing except through punishment. Striking on 
the open hand with a ruler was one of those severe 
and improper methods." 

Such inferior service from incompetent persons did 
not receive very high compensation. The wages were 
from seven and one-half to ten dollars per month, 
and the teacher boarded at the homes of the pupils. 
In later years, the bishop himself taught school for a 
few terms at ten dollars per month, and boarded at 
the homes of his pupils. When the boarding was 



A Boy in School 



43 



good and associations pleasant, he would tarry longer ; 
when not so good, he would hurry away as soon as 
due courtesy would allow. 

Such is a picture of the condition of education 
throughout the rural districts of Ohio when Bishop 
Weaver was born ; it was not much, if any better dur- 
ing his school years. A little better conditions were 
found in the larger towns of the State. All schools 
were supported by the voluntary contributions of the 
people, as no tax had been authorized by the General 
Assembly, and as the lands donated for the support 
of schools had not yet produced any revenue, 

Into some such schools as these already described 
came our subject, and spent such a portion of the 
time as could be spared from the farm. When we 
come to think of the poor accommodations and in- 
competent teachers, and the inefficient teaching, the 
utter lack of any natural method of awakening and 
guiding the young mind, we almost wonder that one 
learned anything. When we think of the absence of 
books and papers, which were seldom seen and more 
seldom owned by the common farmer, and which make 
up our very life to-day, we know how barren their 
life must have been. There seems to have been so 
little to satisfy their mental hunger, and yet, when 
teachers and others fail, God often finds a way to 
arrest our thought, develop and guide our energies, 
and fit us for the work he has in store for us. Some- 
times he speaks to us from the trees, the flowers, the 
animals, and the inanimate world about us; some- 
times from the stars, sometimes from the longings of 



4:4: 



jBiography of Jonathan Weaver 



our natures — an irrepressible desire to know some- 
thing. While the reading may have been poor, yet 
the thoughts read, one or more, may have aroused 
inquiry and stimulated the young mind to seek for 
information from other sources. The contests in the 
classes, the desire for leadership on the playground, 
the constant associations for a shorter or longer time 
with this throbbing young life, would widen to some 
extent the boy's view of life, reveal to him more and 
more its possibilities, show him something of the dif- 
ficulties to be overcome, and make him anxious to 
test in other fields the powers with which God had 
gifted him. 

Our subject was, no doubt, an average youth, and, 
with his fun-loving disposition, would be- as ready to 
play pranks as any. By his own confessions, he re- 
ceived his share of the punishments meted out to 
supposed culprits. This period of public school, with 
four months later spent in a Presbyterian academy 
at Hagerstown, Ohio, made up the sum total of this 
kind of scholarship. It was not all he wanted, but 
all he could get under the circumstances, and, poor 
as it was, it was the best that was offered, and was 
as good as others received. In 1801, a French satir- 
ist proposed a "plan for prohibiting the alphabet to 
women," and he urged his case with no little force 
and pungency. T. W. Higginson, in a magazine ar- 
ticle written in 1859, on the topic, "Should Women 
Learn the Alphabet?" says: "It would seem that 
the brilliant Frenchman touched the root of the mat- 
ter, 'Ought women learn the alphabet V There the 



A Boy in School 



whole question lies. Concede this little fulcrum, and 
Archimedes will move the world before she is done 
with it. It becomes merely a question of time. Re- 
sistance must be made here or nowhere." So what- 
ever else our schoolboy learned, or did not learn, he 
had learned the alphabet ; he knew how to read, and, 
with that key to knowledge, all the great treasures of 
literature stowed away in the temple of knowledge 
were at his control. He had only to enter in and 
possess the land. The result showed that he improved 
his opportunity, 



CHAPTER III. 



His Conversion. 

In his earlier years, the bishop's father was a -well- 
to-do farmer, and in his day was considered in good 
circumstances. By becoming security for some of his 
neighbors, he lost nearly all he had. Because of this, 
the family moved away from the old homestead, and, 
coming into a new community, were surrounded by 
new environments. This would seem to have been a 
great misfortune, but, in later years, the son said: 
"This affliction proved a blessing to me. Many a time 
I have thanked God for what seemed at the time a 
great misfortune. But for that, I do not know that 
any of my father's family would have come to 
Christ." 

While his parents were not Christians, they were 
good moral people, whose example and teaching 
would more or less influence the son in the same di- 
rection. In early life, as most of us do, perhaps, he 
felt the need of living a better life. The quiet in- 
fluence of the Spirit in his heart would show him 
he was not what he ought to be, but just then he did 
not know how to be better. He never went to church 
or to Sunday school until fifteen years of age. There 
were eleven other children in his father's family, all 
older than he, but none of these could teach 

46 



Sis Conversion 



47 



him, for they were not Christians themselves. The 
people were scattered. The visits of ministers were 
few, and when they came, it was usually on week- 
day evenings. He says: "We spent our Sundays 
during the summer months wandering about the 
fields, in the woods, and along the small streams of 
water. Not once a year did we have a service on the 
Lord's day." Church buildings were few, and, for 
the most part, services were held in private houses. 
Tired with the labor and drudgery of the farm, (for 
to support such a family the services of all were 
needed,) he would not be in good condition to profit 
by the preaching. No doubt, but little of it was in- 
tended for him, for the common impression of the 
ministry of the day was that such boys were too young 
to begin the divine life. 

Having lived along in this uncertain condition 
until about seventeen years of age, his father per- 
mitted him to go a few miles from home to attend a 
camp-meeting, near Conotton, Harrison County, con- 
ducted by A. Biddle, presiding elder. These camp- 
meetings became very popular agencies for the spread 
of the gospel. "A majority of the people within an 
area of forty or fifty miles square would assemble to 
hear sermons of the highest order, directed especially 
to the awakening and conversion of souls. The camp- 
meeting pulpits uttered forth sermons of surpassing 
power, and strong and mighty appeals were made to 
the unconverted, which resulted in the conversion 
of thousands of souls. The camp-meeting fire spread 
as the people returned home, and revivals broke out 



48 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



in various localities.*' He had never seen such a 
meeting before, and had no special aim in going, ex- 
cept to have a little recreation, and to see what was 
done at such gatherings. He had never seen what 
was called a "mourner's bench," but had heard of it 
from others, and had some conception of what it 
meant. So far as he understood the matter, he had 
no doubt as to the truth of revealed religion, but 
he had no clearly denned idea of what was meant 
by a life of devotion to God, nor how that life could 
be entered upon. His mother was a devoted reader 
of the Bible, and her conversation with him concern- 
ing it had given him a great reverence for the Scrip- 
tures. This likely saved him from many doubts 
which he otherwise might have had. 

This camp-meeting in a new section of country, 
where they were somewhat of a rarity, would bring a 
good attendance of people. William Burke, a pioneer 
Methodist Episcopal preacher in the early part- of 
the nineteenth century, held a meeting of this kind 
at Cane Bidge, not far from Cincinnati. The his- 
torian says : "It was estimated that on Sunday and 
Sunday night there were twenty thousand people on 
the ground. They had come from far and near, from 
all parts of Kentucky, some from Tennessee, and 
from north of the Ohio Biver, so that the doings of 
Cane Bidge meeting were carried to almost every 
corner of the country, and the holy fire spread in all 
directions." It was conducted in the usual manner 
by singing, praying, preaching, and shouting. The 
first time the mourner's bench was put out, and an 



Mis Conversion 



49 



invitation given, Weaver went forward. We take 
it, that this was, in part, due to his mother, who, while 
making no public profession of religion, was evi- 
dently living a good, if not, indeed, a religious life. 
The Spirit, who has all resources at his command, 
was, no doubt, probably unconsciously to the boy him- 
self, working upon his heart, maybe through the 
truth he had read, or heard from the lips of the min- 
ister, or by a reminder that his life was not what it 
should be, and that it ought to be bettered. More 
than once he had brooded over these things, and at 
this time an awakened conscience prompted to a 
formal step. ]STo one asked him to go, and he could 
hardly tell himself why he went. He did not know 
what to do when he got there. He had felt for some 
time that he should do something, but what that some- 
thing was, he did not know. This was the first op- 
portunity he ever had had, and he improved it. He 
was not converted at that time, but, on the following 
day, he joined the United Brethren Church as a 
seeker. 

He had great fear when he returned home from 
camp-meeting that his father, who was not a Chris- 
tian, would be displeased with his course. He deter- 
mined that, if possible, he would work harder and 
be more diligent than ever before, so that his father 
would have no justifiable reason to find fault with 
him because of the step he had taken. He thought 
probably his father would not hear of it. One day, 
as they were at work in the barn, all of a sudden his 
father said to him, "Jonathan, I understand you have 



50 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



joined church." It went through him like a knife r 
and what was coming next he did not know. Finally 
his father spoke again, "Well, as you have started, L 
want you to stick to it." 

This gave him great courage. A few months after 
this, an aged local preacher, named Price, came, de- 
siring to hold a two-days' meeting in his father's 
home. The father did not oppose it, but, for some 
reason, was not much in sympathy with it The sec- 
ond evening, the old preacher put out the mourner's 
bench, and Jonathan went forward. Before the meet- 
ing was over, possibly the same night or the next, 
some of his brothers and sisters also went forward as 
seekers ; soon his father and mother knelt by his side. 
They were converted before he was. He went for- 
ward as a seeker seventeen different times, and it wa& 
six months from the time he started at the camp- 
meeting until he had the courage to confess that he 
was saved. This occurred at a prayer-meeting held 
in a little log cabin, the home of a Mr. Wolfe. It 
was about midnight. Prayer-meetings in those days 
often lasted until midnight, and many souls were con- 
verted at these meetings. At times he would grow 
discouraged, but his father's words, "Stick to it," 
would put new energy into him. This long struggle 
grew out of the fact that he knew so little about the 
first principles of religion, and had no one to give 
him the proper instruction. At this period, there 
was not a Christian in the family. Within a year 
from the time he started, his parents, two of his 
brothers, and four of his sisters were members of 



His Conversion 



51 



the church, with himself. This made a wonderful 
change in affairs at home. His parents were now in 
their sixtieth year. 

George D. Stoneffer, of Canal Dover, Ohio, says: 
"The first time I ever saw J. Weaver was in October, 
1841, at a little chapel in Stark County, four miles 
from Massillon. He was then quite a young man, 
very tall, and had black hair. I met him at the 
altar, but did not know who he was. He was very 
much interested about his soul's salvation. I prayed 
with him, but did not see him converted, though he 
was converted soon after. I did not see him again, 
until I met him at the conference at Crooked Run, 
Ohio, probably some five years after, when he came 
to get license to preach; have been intimately ac- 
quainted with him ever since." 

With the sheep few and scattered as they were, a 
young man of such promise would soon be called into 
active service. A little class was organized, and, at 
the age of nineteen, he was elected leader, and served 
in this capacity for two years. At twenty, he was 
given license to exhort. With this license, he was 
pressed to assist on a circuit for a time. From the 
time he joined the church, he felt that some time he 
ought to be a minister of the gospel. The thought 
alarmed him at first, for he had no preparation for 
such a work. His first exhortations and sermons were 
prepared, not in the study, with good books all around 
him, but between the plow handles on his father's 
farm. ISTow and then he would go into the woods 
and deliver his exhortations beforehand to the trees 



52 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



and rocks. As he was the youngest member of his 
father's family, when he mentioned anything about 
the matter, he was greatly encouraged by his older 
brothers. Once he ventured to name it to his pastor, 
but he gave him no encouragement He said, "It is 
all your own notion about preaching." But his fa- 
ther's words, "Stick to it," came to his mind again 
and again, and so he persevered. Pastors should not 
be too rash in speaking to young men concerning such 
important matters. 

Some twenty years after this time, he visited Rev. 
A. Biddle, who had been the presiding elder when 
he was licensed, and to whom he pays the following 
deserved tribute : 

"I recently had the pleasure of spending the night 
with this dear brother. He is now in feeble health. 
In our conversation, I was carried back to other 
years, when he preached at my father's house. From 
him I received license to exhort, and, later, to preach, 
and to him I am indebted more than to any other 
man. His words of counsel and instruction did very 
much toward keeping me in the way. His hair has 
grown gray and his eyes dim in the service of the 
Church, yet still he has much of the fire of life in his 
heart, and it requires a greater conflict of mind to 
keep him out of the field than it did to enter it. 
There are many souls in heaven and many on the way 
that were born to Christ through his instrumentality. 
Neither age nor long years of labor have divorced 
his heart from the interests of the Church. He will 
go to his grave praying for the prosperity of our 



His Conversion 



53 



Zion. In regard to our educational work, he is in 
full sympathy with us, and, what is better than words, 
shows his faith by his works. Thank God that we 
have old men with green hearts." 

In his later years, he wrote to a friend concerning 
his entrance to the ministry, as follows : "There was 
no sudden impulse to enter the ministry, nor was 
there anything in my surroundings that suggested it. 
The impression came gradually, growing stronger as 
time passed by. I felt my unfitness for such an im- 
portant work; but, in some way, everything else 
seemed to close up. I felt a deep interest in the 
cause of Christ in general, and the salvation of souls 
in particular, and often found myself exhorting the 
unsaved, when in the field alone. Thus, step by step, 
I was led along, until there seemed to be no other 
road open." 

He knew he did not have the mental furnishing 
that he should have for such a work, but what could 
he do? The family were poor and not able to help 
him. His mother aided him a little, and, with some 
money that he earned himself, he received a term 
of four months at a Presbyterian academy located 
at Hagerstown, Ohio. This gave him a little wider 
outlook, and helped him to form some better habits of 
study. To add to this, he had no encouragement from 
the older ministers of the conference. They had had 
no college training in their earlier years, and thought 
that he knew as much as they when they started, and 
no doubt he did. He would preach to the people in the 
rural districts, who were uncultured, and would not 



54 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



demand as much of him as the people of the city, who 
confessedly had more advantages. Then, while he 
was waiting to receive a higher education, which he 
did not need, unsaved souls were going down to death, 
whom he could save if in the field. How many of 
us, in our earlier years, have heard the same argu- 
ments, and how few young men of the earlier times 
could withstand them when pressed with the sincerity 
and zeal and earnestness which the fathers mani- 
fested ! He had good health, a strong voice, a good 
supply of zeal, all desirable qualifications in a 
preacher, and whatever else he needed the Holy 
Spirit would supplement. 

Luckily for him, at this time he had a thirst for 
knowledge, and used every opportunity to add to his 
little store. Books were scarce, but he could borrow, 
and now and then buy one. He read and studied 
more or less when at his daily work. His youngest 
sister was married to a young minister (Rev. E. 
Slutts), and, by his help, he obtained some light on 
the doctrines of the gospel. Among his earlier books 
were Buck's "Theological Dictionary/' Dr. Thomas 
Dick's works, Watson's "Institutes," and Clark's 
"Commentary." He was charmed with Dr. Dick, as 
what boy who has read his writings has not been, not 
alone for the information imparted, but for the fresh- 
ness of his style of writing ? Later came Fletcher and 
Baxter and Mosheim, with some additional books of 
history and poetry which came within his reach. 

One of the biographers of President Lincoln tells 
this anecdote concerning him: Before his nomina- 



Sis Conversion 



55 



tion for the Presidency, he visited the New England 
States and lectured in a number of their cities and 
towns. A gentleman who heard him in Norwich, 
Connecticut, was struck with his logical power, and, 
the next day, riding in the same car with him to New 
Haven, said to him, "Mr. Lincoln, I was delighted 
with your lecture last evening." "Oh, thank you, 
but that was not much of a lecture ; I can do better 
than that." "I do not doubt it; and now I am dis- 
posed to ask you how you acquired your wonderful 
logical power. I have heard that you are entirely 
self-educated. How did you acquire such an acute 
power of analysis ?" "I will tell you ; it was my ter- 
rible discouragement which did that for me." " Your 
discouragement; — what do you mean ?" "You see," 
said Mr. Lincoln, in reply, "when I was a young 
man, I went into an office to study law. Well, after 
a little while I saw that a lawyer's business was 
largely to prove things, and I said to myself, 'Lin- 
coln, when is a thing proved?' That was a poser. 
I could not answer that question, What constitutes 
proof? Not evidence; that was not the point. There 
may be evidence enough, but wherein consists the 
proof ? You remember the old story of the German, 
who was tried for some crime, and they brought half 
a dozen reputable men who swore they saw the pris- 
oner commit the crime. 'Veil,' he replies, 'vat of 
dot? Six men schwears dot dey saw me do it. I 
pring more nor two tozen goot men who schwears 
dey did not see me do it.' I groaned over the ques- 
tion, 'Where is the proof ?' and finally said to myself, 



56 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



'Lincoln, you can't tell. What use for you to be in 
a lawyer's office if you can't tell when a thing is 
proved? So I left the office and went back home, 
over in Kentucky." "So you gave up the law?" 
"JSTo; your conclusion is not logical. Keally, I did 
give up the law, and I thought I should never go back 
to it. This was in the fall of the year. Soon after 
I returned to the old log cabin, I fell in with a copy 
of Euclid. I had not the slightest notion what Euclid 
was, and so thought I would find out. I did find 
out, but it was no easy job. I looked into the book, 
and found it was all about lines, angles, surfaces, 
and solids, but I could not understand it at all. I 
therefore began very deliberately at the beginning. 
I learned the definitions and axioms. I demonstrated 
the first proposition. I said, That is simple enough. 
I went on to the next, and the next, and before spring 
I had gone through that old Euclid's geometry, and 
could demonstrate every proposition like a book. I 
knew it all from beginning to end. You could not 
stick me on the hardest of them. Then, in the spring 
I had got through with it, I said to myself, one day, 
'Do you know now when a thing is proved ?' I an- 
swered, out loud, 'Yes, sir, I do.' 'Then you may 
go back to the law shop/ and I went." "So you dug 
your logical acumen out of geometry?" "Yes, sir, 
I did; often by the light of pitch' pine-knots, but I 
got it. Nothing but geometry will teach you the 
power of abstract reasoning. Only that will tell you 
when a thing is proved." 

So our ecclesiastical Lincoln, resembling the orig- 



His Conversion 



57 



inal in more respects than one, could not go to col- 
lege, but he knew how to read, and having learned 
how to think, what more did he need except to keep 
on reading and thinking ? He says : "I did not read 
as many books as others. I conceived the notion that 
reading was good, but thinking was better. As a 
rule, I have read books for reference more than for 
anything else. In this way they have been very help- 
ful to me. It is my opinion that a good many people 
read too many books, more than they can digest, and 
the result is, their ideas are confused. If they had 
read fewer books, and thought more, they would be 
stronger and clearer. I believe in reading good books, 
but not too many. The best books have been written 
by the best thinkers. What little strength I have is 
largely due to the habit of thinking I formed in early 
life. Mr. Roberts says, 'The man who has learned 
to think well and rightly need never to be alone, for 
he can people solitude and cheer the dreams of night 
with bright and pure thoughts.' " 



CHAPTEK IV. 



A Preacher in Charge, 

So far as known, the first United Brethren so- 
ciety organized in the West was near Germantown, 
Ohio, in 1806, at the home of A. Zeller, who later 
became one of the bishops of the United Brethren 
Church. Others followed later in the Scioto Valley. 
In 1810, a conference was organized by Bishop New- 
comer, at which there were present probably fifteen 
persons. In 1818, Muskingum Conference was or- 
ganized, with six preachers as members. This was 
at the home of Joseph JSTaf tzgar, in Harrison County. 
In 1822, Jacob Baulus, a preacher of great ability, 
came from Maryland and settled near Fremont, 
Ohio, in what was known as the Black Swamp. 
Through his faithful efforts, classes were formed, 
so that, in 1829, it was recognized as Sandusky Cir- 
cuit. Soon thereafter, Muskingum Conference sent 
John Zahn as preacher under Baulus as presiding 
elder. This conference continued to supply it, 
though one hundred miles from the nearest appoint- 
ment, until May 12, 1834, when Sandusky Confer- 
ence was organized at the home of Philip Bretz, on 
Honey Creek, Seneca County. There were twenty 



A Treacher in Charge 



59 



preachers present. In 1849, Muskingum Conference 
is credited with having sixty-one preachers present, 
local and traveling, twenty-eight circuits, and 4,300 
members. 

The Church historian, speaking of the year 1847, 
says: "During this year the whole nation was im- 
mersed more or less in the spirit of war. A bloody 
war was kept up between the United States and 
Mexico, in which harder battles were fought, and per- 
haps more lives lost than in the American Revolu- 
tion. This state of things affected materially the in- 
terests of Zion. Recruiting officers were found in 
all the towns and villages from Maine to Georgia, 
on week days and on Sundays, beating up for volun- 
teers. The church, to a great extent, drank in the 
same spirit Many church-members, and even offi- 
cers, such as leaders, exhorters, stewards, etc., volun- 
teered to go to the field of carnage. In one or two 
instances, preachers of the United Brethren Church 
volunteered, and actually went. In view of this state 
of things, it may well be imagined that this year 
was not replete with the outpourings of the Holy 
Spirit. There were some few revivals in the church, 
but, comparatively, they were few and not very ex- 
tensive. The spirit of war and the weekly news from 
the scenes of deadly strife appeared to absorb all 
other interests." 1 

In February, 1847, the year in which Otterbein 
University was chartered, Mr. Weaver joined Mus- 
kingum Conference, at the session held in Union 

^anby's "U. B. Church History." 



60 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Chapel, Stark County, Ohio, Bishop Russel presid- 
ing. 

Concerning his admission to conference, a lady 
at Canal Dover, in a private letter, communicates the 
following: "In the year 1846, the annual confer- 
ence was held in a little log church in the valley of 
Crooked Run, and the name of J. Weaver was pre- 
sented as an applicant for license to preach, but was 
rejected. William Hanby presided, assisted by A. 
Biddle. Eight years later, word came to Crooked 
Run that Rev. Mr. Weaver was presiding elder for 
that year, but no one thought of him as the person 
who had been declined at the conference held there 
years before. Solomon Weaver had been through 
there, and they were more or less acquainted with 
him, and knew the presiding elder was his brother. 
The time came for the quarterly meeting, and with 
it came the elder, who stopped at my grandfather's 
(Frederick Wills) for dinner. After some remarks 
had been made, Weaver said to his host, 'Do you 
remember ever seeing me before?' The man an- 
swered, 'I don't remember that I ever did.' Weaver 
asked him further, 'Do you remember the conference 
down here eight years ago V 'Yes, I remember that 
very well,' was the reply. 'Do you remember a boy 
who was present and applied for license at that con- 
ference and was rejected V 'Yes, I remember that,' 
was the host's reply. 'Well, I am that boy/ said the 
presiding elder." 

This did not likely result, if it be a veritable fact, 
from any supposed want of competency, for they were 



A Preacher in Charge 



61 



»not very rigid in those days concerning intellectual 
acquirements, provided the experience was satisfac- 
tory. We have on record an experience not unlike 
it: In the year 1852, Rev. J. G. Baldwin, then a 
young man, and still living at this writing, made 
application to the quarterly conference of Canaan 
Circuit, then in the bounds of Muskingum Confer- 
ence, for license to preach. The usual questions, not 
very numerous nor very exacting, were propounded 
by the elder in the chair, and the applicant was asked 
to retire while the conference took his case under 
consideration. He says : "They did consider about 
an hour, and then called me in, and the elder in- 
formed me that there were four who voted that I re- 
ceive license, and four against me, with five not vot- 
ing at all. It was therefore a tie, and the conference 
had asked him to give the deciding vote. A few ques- 
tions were then asked by him, and, as the answers 
were apparently to his satisfaction, he voted in the 
affirmative. Those who voted in the negative in- 
formed me afterwards that they did so thinking that 
as I had been teaching school I might be disposed 
to trust in my learning and leave the Lord out of the 
question." 

Concerning his first field of labor, Bishop Weaver 
writes: "I was then in my twenty-third year cf 
age. From the conference I received my first ap- 
pointment, then known as Lake Erie Mission. The 
mission was two hundred miles around, with seven- 
teen appointments and twenty-three members. But 
I was young and full of hope. My advantages had 



62 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



been comparatively poor, for I was raised under the 
old constitution, when men almost universally op- 
posed an educated ministry. I had to make the best 
possible out of my ignorance. When the time came to 
start for the mission, which was distant over one 
hundred miles, I felt some misgivings, but would not 
suffer even my mother to know that my mind was in 
the least cloudy. I packed up my notions in an old- 
fashioned pair of saddle-bags, and took a hasty leave 
of home and friends, and set my face towards the 
north. The roads were exceedingly muddy, as it was 
in the spring of the year, but after four days of hard 
riding, I reached the first appointment, and stopped 
with Mr. John Goodin, who lived on the mission, 
and had traveled it the year previous. With this good 
brother I remained a day or two, and then set out 
in search of the few scattered sheep which were 
spread over six or seven counties, but, thanks to my 
good luck, I found every one of them in the course 
of a month." 

An older brother, Nicholas Weaver, tells this story 
of his brother's first start into the work of the min- 
istry: "When Jonty received word of his appoin1> 
ment to his first charge, he said, 'I cannot go; I 
have no horse, no saddle, no saddle-bags, no over- 
coat, no nothing.' I said to him, i Jonty, if you 
feel it is your duty to go, we will fix you up for 
the trip.' I had a little bay mare, and we saddled 
her up, found some saddle-bags, and filled them up, 
found an old drab overcoat, with cape and shingles, 
as they used to have in those days, and made him 



A Treacher in Charge 



ready for his trip. I will not soon forget the morn- 
ing he started away. It was some twenty or thirty 
rods from the barn down to Huff Run, then it was 
up, up, up to the top of the hill, where stood the old 
Huff Run Church. I can yet see Jonty going down 
to the run on the little bay mare, his feet nearly 
touching the ground." After telling the story, he 
wound up by saying, "But Jonty has done pretty well, 
after all." 

"Being now fairly addressed to my work, I laid 
in with all my might, and soon had the number of 
appointments increased to twenty-three, which I filled 
regularly in three weeks. I expected to do more than 
I really did. I knew little, comparatively, of human 
nature, and thought I would be able to gather sinners 
into the fold of Christ by scores and hundreds, but 
I was wonderfully disappointed. I was greatly an- 
noyed by the Universalists, as nearly every third 
man was of that faith, and they seemed to take great 
pleasure in calling my attention to their peculiari- 
ties, about which I knew but little. I found that 
nothing else would do but a careful posting in that 
direction, which I set about in good earnest, and, 
in the course of a few months, they became rather 
shy. I possessed a good deal of physical energy, and 
some warmth of spirit, which carried me forward 
with apparent ease." 

Others have had a similar experience in selecting 
texts. He says: "One thing was rather peculiar 
in my first yearns experience, and that was in the 
selection of texts. It seemed to me that there were 



64 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



only a few passages which contained a sufficient 
amount of matter for a sermon, and I often took hold 
of the more mysterious passages and supposed that I 
did them ample justice, when, in fact, as I now see, 
I never touched the real thing." 

The climate in that section at that time was not 
the most desirable. "During the winter months, 
which were very severe, I suffered much from cold. 
I was not accustomed to the lake breezes, and had, on 
each round, to travel about forty miles on the lake 
shore. I often slept at night with nothing more than 
a half-inch shingle between my bed and the heavens. 
The snow was sometimes a full half-inch deep on my 
bed in the morning. This, of course, I did not think 
well of, but as it was not my nature to complain, I 
said but little. During the year, I held several pro- 
tracted meetings, which resulted, in all, in upwards 
of eighty conversions and accessions. It was a year 
of never-to-be-forgotten comfort to me. I learned 
more of human nature than I had ever heard of, both 
in myself and others. I believe it is good, but not 
wise, to put young men on frontier fields of labor. " 
An opinion which he modified later, when, as bishop, 
he saw the great need for men in the great West. 

He had another experience during the year which 
would be a little uncommon in our day, and which 
he never forgot. It was an additional view of human 
nature: "I was invited to take up an appointment 
in a place called Independence, seven miles south 
of Cleveland. At the first appointment, I suppose 
there were one hundred persons in attendance. It 



A Preacher in Charge 



65 



was a new thing, as there had never been but one 
sermon preached in that vicinity, and there was but 
one man to be found that made any profession of re- 
ligion, and he was rather a hard sort of a Christian. 
When I was about to commence the sermon on the 
first evening, a large two-handed man arose in his 
place and said that after that evening we could not 
have the house, as he considered it impolitic to hold 
evening meetings, and immediately withdrew. At 
the close of the meeting, I asked the congregation to 
decide whether I should return or not, and all voted 
for another appointment, which I announced for 
three weeks. Upon inquiry, I learned that my large 
man was a justice of the peace and an infidel. 

"At the appointed time I returned, and found 
the house crowded. I arose to begin just as the 
squire entered the house. He at once commenced 
his harangue, and continued for some time, when, 
owing to some personal remarks, he excited a little 
Irishman, who felt it his duty to retaliate, and, after 
some pretty sharp words, the Irishman quieted down, 
and the infidel went on with his remarks. Pretty 
soon he again indulged in some remark that did not 
suit the notions of the Irishman, and he again inter- 
rupted the giant squire, who, by the way, called Pat 
a liar. This was quite as much as he could stand, 
and he threatened to take the infidel down a peg. I 
wondered how that might be, as he was so much 
smaller than the squire. They continued sparring 
for some time, when the squire, with great authority, 
commanded him to take his seat and be quiet or he 



66 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



would make him sweat for what he had done. At 
this rather smoky time, the Irishman's wife, who had 
been a quiet spectator, jumped to her feet, and said, 
'Faith, Davy, ye may as well die for an old shape 
as a lamb ; just give him a little.' 'Faith, an' I will/ 
says Davy. Whereupon he felled the infidel to the 
floor, then took him by the feet and dragged him 
out of the house and administered to him such treat- 
ment as he judged he deserved. All this time I stood 
in my place, hymn-book in hand, secretly wishing 
I was not just in that neighborhood. After the fight- 
ing was over, I went out of the house, and the first- 
person I met was the Irishman's wife, who, by the 
way, had stood hard by Davy all through the fight, 
'Mr. Preacher,' said she, 'and wasn't that good for 
him V I confess I thought it was, but dared not say 
it 

"The next thing in order was either to go home or 
to try to preach. The people were bent on having 
preaching, but I was tired. I was not fit to preach, 
nor they to hear. But they swore I must preach, and 
it was some time before they would consent not to 
have preaching. I knew it was not the preaching 
they cared so much about, but they wanted the vic- 
tory complete. I returned to the neighborhood and 
preached several times, but the squire did not find 
it convenient to be in attendance, Davy and his wife 
were always on hand, and paid more than a common 
quarterage. 

"The year closed pleasantly and profitably to me. 
It is my opinion, however, that inexperienced young 



A Preacher in Charge 



67 



men ought not be sent out on the frontier fields. It 
is also my opinion that young men about entering 
the ministry would do well to spend some time in 
preparation before they enter the field. I speak from 
experience, for I learned to feel the need of it" This 
was written thirteen years after the events occurred. 
He received $80 for his services that year. 

The following year, which was only a part of a 
year, he traveled Mt. Yernon Mission, in northeast 
Ohio. The conference convened in seven months 
from the time he began, but for this time he received 
$60, and had nearly one hundred conversions. He 
was ordained by Bishop Glossbrenner in 1848. In 
those early days ministers were not required to pass 
through a regular course of reading, nor to remain 
three years on probation, as now. By this conference 
he was sent to Fowler's Circuit, eastern Ohio. He 
had good success, and received for his work $175. 

He was married to Miss Keziah L. Bobb, of Ma- 
honing County, Ohio, on February 24, 1847, the year 
in which he joined the annual conference. They 
lived pleasantly and happily together for the space 
of four years, when she was removed by death. She 
was an earnest, active Christian woman, and died in 
great peace. Two daughters were born to them, both 
of whom are living, Mrs. A. T. Shaeifer, of Grand 
Rapids, Michigan, and Mrs. E. L. Nave, of Hunting- 
ton, Indiana. 

The annual conference of 1849 was held in Berlin, 
Mahoning County, and by it he was assigned to New 
Burnley Station, Harrison County, Ohio. Here he 



68 



Biography of Jonathan Weave/ 



remained two years, with fair success, his salary each 
year being about $175. He began with one hundred 
and ten members, and increased the list sixteen. 

Most of those who listened to him in those early 
days, like himself, have gone to their reward. One 
who still remains says: "I first met him in the 
spring of 1848. Joseph Waldorf had organized a 
small society, eight in number, of United Brethren in 
Canaan, Wayne County, Ohio. Solomon Weaver, his 
brother, was presiding elder. Our meetings at that 
time were nearly always held in private houses, for 
there were few churches as yet. A prayer-meeting 
had been appointed to be held at the house of Brother 
Lamon, and it was circulated through the community 
that we might expect a young preacher from the lake 
shore to preach to us that evening. The time for 
the meeting came, and every room in the house was 
crowded. The preacher came> and we were sure we 
never heard such preaching and singing in our lives 
before. It was all very enthusiastic, much noise, but 
a great deal of sense as well as sound. The services 
were continued until midnight, as we were often apt 
to do in those days." 

The following account of this same meeting is given 
by an eye-witness: "About 1849 or 1850, there 
came to our vicinity a young man, and it was 
soon circulated in the neighborhood that he would 
preach at our Wednesday evening prayer-meeting, 
which was to be held at a private house, for at that 
time we had no church-house. Well, of course, the 
house was crowded in every nook and corner, as 



A Treacher in Charge 



69 



it was reported that the preacher was a new man 
and just a beginner. My impression now is, that it 
was reported that he came from the northeast, along 
the lake shore, and also that he was a giant in stature ; 
also, a powerful hand at preaching and singing. Of 
course, all were there who could conveniently be 
there, and expectation ran high. When all were well 
settled, and a few songs had been sung, and a few 
had led in prayer, as was the custom, the said 
preacher arose to begin his evening effort. I am 
now of the opinion that his head came well up to 
the ceiling of the room where we were gathered. In- 
deed, our ideal was fully met in regard to his giant 
altitude. The preaching was impulsive, and it was 
the opinion of several, as they expressed it, 'That 
he was a noisy preacher and a very lusty singer.' 
There were few in the audience who knew the name 
of the preacher at that time, but, after the sermon, 
there was much handshaking, and I am quite sure 
that the most of the congregation introduced them- 
selves to him without much ceremony, and learned 
his name, which was Jonathan Weaver." 

When at the sessions of the annual conference, 
Bishop Weaver, who was reckoned quite a good singer 
for the times, would frequently start a stanza of some 
hymn, as he said, "to liven up things," for he always 
abhorred dullness. 

In the Telescope for July 4, 1849, there is a com- 
munication from him on "Order in the Church." 
He was a little noisy, probably, as many others were, 
and he was taken to task for it, probably by some 



70 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



who were unconverted. He says: "It is thought 
to be out of order for Christians to shout or praise 
God with a vocal voice, because (1) it is confusing; 
(2) it will offend the sinners; (3) many hypocrites 
shout." He takes these up in their order, and meets 
them with no little skill. "As to the first, it cannot 
confuse the Christian, for Paul tells him to rejoice 
evermore, and pray without ceasing. It will not con- 
fuse the angels, for that is their business. It can- 
not confuse God, for he is surrounded by the heav- 
enly hosts, who are always shouting and praising 
him. As to the second point, that it offends the 
wicked, that is no reason why Christians should re- 
frain from it. Preaching the gospel plainly and 
earnestly may offend, but Christians must go for- 
ward all the same. As to the third point, there are, 
no doubt, hypocrites who shout ; there are some hypo- 
crites who do not. Christ never called any one a 
hypocrite for shouting. When Christ went into 
Jerusalem, those with him cried, 'Hosanna in the 
highest !' Some cried out, 'Order ! order !' but Jesus 
said, if they held their peace, the stones would cry 
out. If the stones about some of our meeting-houses 
would cry out, it would arouse some of our modern 
formalists. I would to God the stones under the 
meeting-houses would cry out, or that the hearts of 
stone would melt, to give room for old-fashioned re- 
ligion. . . . Let me live a Christian life and 
die shouting the praises of God." 

In his nature was a quiet vein of humor, which 
was of great value to him when presiding, later, over 



A Preacher in Charge 



71 



conferences. When perplexing questions would come 
up, and now and then unholy passions manifest 
themselves, by means of this he could quiet the most 
turbulent uprising which would likely occur. This 
came to his help even in the early years of his min- 
istry. In that day, it was made the duty of the 
preacher to read certain sections of the Discipline 
once or more during the year at each appointment. 
In the performance of this duty, he was, at one ap- 
pointment, reading the article on secret societies. A 
member of the society who was present arose and 
said, "Brother Weaver, is that in the United Breth- 
ren Discipline?" He was assured by the preacher 
that it was. "Well," said the member, somewhat 
pettishly, "if that is the case, I want it understood 
that I am no longer a member of the United Breth- 
ren Church." To which the preacher answered, with 
a merry twinkle in his eye, "Very well, brother, the 
United Brethren Church has a back door as well as 
a front door, and you can go out there if you wish." 
This disarmed the brother of his opposition, and, 
after a further investigation, he concluded not to 
take his exit at the back door. If living, he is still a 
member. 

Bishop Weaver's distinguished form, his genial, 
sunny temperament, his earnest, successful preaching, 
made him popular in the conference, so he was 
quickly singled out for promotion. In November, 
1851, the Muskingum Conference was held in Ca- 
naan, Wayne County, Ohio. At this conference, he 
was elected presiding elder, and was placed on the 



72 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Xew Rumley District, serving it two years. For 
three years he served on Wooster District, making 
five years in all. Later, when in the college agency, 
he served as elder for a portion of a year. 

"While Bishop Weaver was not exactly a pioneer in 
the strict sense of that term, he stood on the borders 
of that time. We wish he had kept a record of the 
events of his times, for it wonld have been very help- 
ful in properly estimating the trials, the poverty, 
the disappointments of that period. It would have 
revealed to us the stuff out of which these early Chris- 
tians were made. Our Methodist friends have done 
better than we, for they have a record of these times 
of trial. Our men, uncultured as they were, unas- 
suming in their manners, and restrained in their ex- 
pectations, never expecting the Church would amount 
to a very great deal, were satisfied to keep at work 
in their humble way trying to save souls, and to 
teach their neighbors a better way of living, without 
thinking that posterity would be interested in their 
labors, nor anxious that distant ages should think of 
them, but only concerned that they should so live 
that when the King of kings came to gather up his 
jewels, they should be remembered of him. 

One of the most able and eloquent ministers of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in Ohio was Rev. J ames 
B. Finley, who was a missionary among the Wyandot 
Indians, at Upper Sandusky, about the time Bishop 
Weaver was born. He was chaplain of the Ohio 
Penitentiary when Bishop Weaver began to preach. 
His power in the pulpit was remarkable, and, at 



A Preacher in Charge 



73 



the canip-meetings common in those days, he almost 
brought down thousands at a stroke. Speaking of 
his preparation, he says: a My want of experience 
and conscious inability to preach the gospel as a 
workman that need not to be ashamed, led me to seek 
with great earnestness the sanctifying influence of 
the Spirit of God, and to devote every spare hour to 
the study of the Bible. My place of study was the 
forest, and my principal text-books the Bible, Dis- 
cipline, doctrinal treatise, and the works of Wesley 
and Fletcher. Often while in the woods reading 
my Bible, on my knees, and praying to God for the 
wisdom that cometh down from above, was my heart 
comforted. My feeble efforts were abundantly 
blessed, and many souls were given to my ministry." 

When he went to take charge of his first circuit, 
he says: "Nowhere in all the round could I find a 
place for my family to live, and hence I was driven 
to the necessity of building a cabin fourteen miles 
west of Bainsville. We took possession of our humble 
cabin, twelve by fourteen feet, which proved suffi- 
ciently capacious, as we had nothing but a bed and 
some wearing apparel. My funds being all ex- 
hausted, I sold the boots off my feet to purchase pro- 
visions with, and, after making all the preparation 
that I could to render my family comfortable, started 
out again on my circuit, to be absent four weeks." 
Limited as these men were in pecuniary support, 
they enjoyed a rich experience. "Traveling and 
preaching night and day, they were without the neces- 
saries of life, always without those comforts that are 



74 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



now enjoyed by traveling preachers, with worn and 
tattered garments, but happy and united like a band 
of brothers. The quarterly meetings and annual con- 
ferences were high times when the pilgrims met. 
They never met without embracing each other, and 
never parted at those seasons without weeping. Those 
were days that tried men's souls/' 

The people were poor, and could do but little for 
their preachers. Says Finley: "The first settlers 
could not have sustained themselves had it not been 
for the wild game in the country. This was their 
principal subsistence, and this they took at the peril 
of their lives, and often some of them came near 
starving to death. Wild meat without bread or salt 
was often their only food for weeks together. If 
they obtained bread, the meal was pounded in a mor- 
tar, or ground in a hand-mill. Hominy was a good 
substitute for bread, or parched corn pounded and 
sifted, then mixed with a little sugar, and eaten dry. 
On this coarse fare the people were remarkably 
healthy and cheerful. Almost every man and boy 
were hunters, and some of the women of those times 
were expert in the chase." 

Says another : "The pioneers in the Western ter- 
ritory suffered many privations, and underwent much 
toil and labor, preaching in forts and cabins, sleep- 
ing on straw, bear and buffalo skins, living on bear 
meat, venison, and wild turkey, traveling over moun- 
tains and through solitary valleys, and sometimes 
lying on the cold ground, receiving but a scanty sup- 
port, — barely enough to keep soul and body together, 



A Preacher in Charge 



75 



with coarse, home-made apparel ; but, best of all, their 
labors were received and blessed of God, and they 
were like a band of brothers, having but one purpose 
and end in view, the glory of God and the salvation 
of immortal souls." 

Our heart thrills and our pulse throbs as we write 
the record of how these men toiled and suffered. 
What we are to-day in this goodly State of Ohio is 
due to the teaching and example of these men. They 
were the true patriots and builders of our Christian 
civilization. Their thought was not of self, but the 
good of the people and the glory of God. In many 
homes to-day are blessed memories of these men, who 
laid the foundations on which others of us are build- 
ing. ^ 

Bishop Weaver, it is true, came a little later than 
some of these men, and did not find it necessary to 
bear as these men bore, or to suffer as they suffered, 
but he and his associates did bear and endure pri- 
vations of which we know nothing to-day. All honor 
to these early consecrated workers, who, in the rain 
and mud and snow, digged deep and laid foundations 
on which the church of to-day is seeking to build the 
superstructure. May it be worthy of the work they 
did and the privations they endured. 



CHAPTEK V. 



A College Agent. 

Having done good service as an itinerant, Bishop 
Weaver's brethren promoted him to the position of 
presiding elder, in which capacity he served some five 
years. He was more and more beginning to know the 
wants of the Church. He was becoming more skillful 
in matters of administration. He was a delegate to 
the General Conference which met in Cincinnati, in 
1857, which was a very important one. This in- 
creased his acquaintance with the Church leaders, and 
they learned more about his ability. Thoughtful men 
who were scanning the field for faithful helpers saw 
in him powers and capabilities that gave promise 
of still greater usefulness. J ohn C. Bright, that per- 
sistent advocate of the cause of missions, pressed him 
to go to Canada as a missionary. Otterbein Uni- 
versity had been chartered in 1847, and the aggres- 
sive minds of the Church were enlisted in its welfare. 
Bishop Weaver's brother, Solomon, had served the 
institution in 1854 and 1855, and Jonathan would 
be more or less both interested and informed as to 
its needs. Then, again, he realized his own imper- 
fect preparation, and how he had early been pressed 
into active service. He saw that the coming Church, 

76 



A College Agent 



77 



if it succeeded, must have better trained men, and 
he was anxious to bring to others advantages which 
did not come to him. So he became the agent for 
Otterbein University. 

This was a severe school for him, and involved the 
hardest work he ever did, but it helped to prepare 
him for his later work. He was elected June, 1857, 
and served the institution continuously for eight 
years. When asked, in his old age, as to his success 
in this new field, he answered: "My success was 
only moderate. Hard times and the Civil War made 
it very difficult. Difficult as the work was, it was a 
great school for me. It gave me an insight into hu- 
man nature that I could not have obtained in any 
other way. Sometimes I was amused, and not infre- 
quently disgusted. During these years, I formed the 
habit of observation, so that I could pretty nearly 
read a man the moment I saw him." 

When he became agent, the university had been 
in existence for ten years. So far as he could ascer- 
tain, at the time he began there was not a college 
graduate in the membership of the Church. That 
year, two ladies, one of whom is still living in Cali- 
fornia, became the first graduates of the university, 
and headed the list of a long line of cultured men 
and women who have since gone forth to bless the 
Church and the world. As our leaders were not 
themselves men trained in the college, they had no 
experience in college work, and it was not surprising 
that they made blunders which trained and cultured 
men would have avoided. The gratifying thing is, 



78 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



that, with all their lack of skill, they made as com- 
mendable success as they did. They not only had to 
train the young, but they had to teach the old that 
such training was a desirable thing. 

The starting of the college was the work of a few 
aggressive men, foremost of whom were Dr. L. Davis, 
William Hanby, and Jonathan Dresbach, and not a 
demand of the ministry or membership at large. Two 
buildings had been erected at Westerville for school 
purposes by the Methodist people residing there. 
When the college at Delaware was opened, the acad- 
emy at Westerville, so near to that city, could not 
be sustained. There was a debt of $1,300 on the 
two buildings, and a proposition was submitted to the 
representatives of the United Brethren Church to 
give them this property for school purposes if they 
would pay the debt. They purchased it on time, 
thinking they had a good thing of it ; and so these 
men, in their inexperience, started a college with not 
a dollar in the treasury and a debt of $1,300. When 
we remember that they had the whole Church to edu- 
cate, and had to compete with other institutions, is it 
a surprise that the institution is still in debt ? 

Dr. Davis was appointed as agent, and sent to so- 
licit money. isTo better man could have been secured 
for the work. Through mud and storm and snow he 
started for the Sandusky Conference^ on the Maumee, 
in order to secure the cooperation of its ministers. 
Bishop Russel was the presiding officer. He was a 
man strong in intellect, with a persistent will, and 
strong in his prejudices. He told Dr. Davis that he 



A College Agent 



would oppose this new project, and oppose it he did. 
In every way he well could, he sought to prevent Dr. 
Davis from making any remarks at the conference. 
Finally, Pussel himself made an earnest speech of 
half an hour against cooperation, and at once put 
the question. The conference voted for the college, 
but by a small majority. Davis next went to Mus- 
kingum Conference, the one Bishop Weaver joined, 
and he had a spirited contest with Bishop Kussel, 
who told him he should not be there and press 
this on the conference. Eussel himself opposed it 
in the conference, forewarning them that if this 
proposition to cooperate carried, something awful 
would happen to the Church, but what, he did not 
tell. The result was that the resolution failed that 
year, but in the following one the conference voted to 
cooperate. 

In speaking of this historical event, Dr. Davis 
said: "Russel was a typical man, and the fathers 
of the Church were well represented in him. They 
were not opposed to education, but they did not be- 
lieve it the business of the church to educate. Other 
churches held the same view, largely, but they were 
getting rid of it faster than we. Perhaps Otterbein 
held it. Boehm, Newcomer, and Guething held it I 
know Asbury held it. This we had to combat" 

Says Prof. H. Garst: "If the inquiry be raised, 
why the Church was, for more than half a century, 
without a college, these among other reasons were to 
be found : The conviction cherished by many of the 
fathers that it was no part of the work of the church 



80 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



of Christ to furnish instruction so largely secular 
as that of a college generally is ; the numerical weak- 
ness and scattered condition of the membership of the 
Church during its early history; the missionary char- 
acter of the work of the Church, which so engrossed 
the leading men in evangelistic labors that they had 
but little time to build colleges ; and, finally, the fear 
on the part of some that such an institution might 
be used to the injury of the church of Christ. As 
the church grew and became more firmly established, 
the demand for a college became more imperative." 

In the Telescope of July 18, 1866, will be found 
an editorial which gave a good epitome of the situa- 
tion at the time when the college was opened, and 
even later : "The friends of these early schools were 
compelled to fight their way at every step. The gen- 
eral sentiment, to all appearances, was unreconcilably 
opposed to any advance in this direction. A large 
majority of the ministers shared this opposition. It 
was not an unusual thing for some of them, in their 
pulpits, to thank God that they had never rubbed 
their backs against college walls." 

Those who are curious will find an interesting cir- 
cular, issued by L. Davis and Bishop Hanby, and 
published in the columns of the Telescope of 1846, 
which tells its own story. One of the most seri- 
ous objections urged against this newly projected 
college was the statement that it was to be a "priest 
factory," where men not called of God should be 
licensed to preach. Even men in high official posi- 
tion made this assertion. It became so serious that 



A College Agent 



81 



it was thought best to make a public statement, 
through the press, which should disarm any objection 
of that kind. We make an extract therefrom : "We 
now enter our most solemn protest, and we think it 
unkind in any of our brethren thus to represent us, 
l>ecause we have from the beginning disavowed in 
public and in private any intention of the kind. Our 
great object is the general diffusion of useful knowl- 
edge, especially in the Church to which we belong. 
♦ . . As it respects the opinions of the fathers of 
the Church, we do not consider them of supreme au- 
thority in deciding a question of this kind. . . . 
If God should call a man from the plow, let him go ; 
if from any of the high schools of the land, let him 
likewise go, and go immediately. . . . This 
sentiment, we think, our venerable fathers held no 
more sacred than we do. . . . And now all we 
ask is to be treated with Christian courtesy, and not 
to have urged upon us positions we have never taken ; 
and, further, either to convince us of wrong by the 
Bible or the Discipline, or allow us peaceably and 
kindly to do what we are perfectly willing they may 
not do." Which, very literally translated, means, "If 
you cannot, and will not help us, then keep hands 
off and let us alone." Notwithstanding this dis- 
claimer, one of the best things the university has 
ever done is the help it has rendered in furnishing 
the Church with a better qualified ministry. In this 
sense, it is its glory to have been a "priest factory," 
and we hope it shall so continue to be as long as it 
lasts. 

6 



82 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



There was a man named John Eckert, who, before 
coming to this country, had been in jail in Germany 
for preaching experimental religion. He was a man 
of good life, but of limited information. He itiner- 
ated some with Bishop Edwards, in his earlier min- 
istry. He preached a sermon from Kev. 9:2, 3, in 
which the smoke and locusts coming up out of the 
pit were made to represent the college; the bottom- 
less pit was the indefinite amount of learning — no 
limit to it; the smoke was the mystifying effect of 
human teaching; the college men, who always made 
everything dark about them, were the locusts. When 
college-bred men are ready for work, they seek good 
salaries, and want to live on the fat of the land. 
John's exegesis was not in keeping with the strictest 
rules of logic, but it illustrated the spirit of the 
time, Many others thought as he said. 

About the year 1834, the foundations of Oberlin 
College were laid. The original founder, in outlin- 
ing his plan, says : "They are to connect workshops 
and a farm with the institution, and so simplify diet 
and dress, that by four hours' labor per day young 
men will defray their entire expenses, and young 
women working at the spinning-wheel and loom will 
defray much of their expense." 1 This was not orig- 
inal with Oberlin. The manual labor idea was in 
the air. If persons of limited means could go to 
college and defray most, if not all of their expenses 
by labor, so much the better. 

While this spirit was prevailing, and some insti- 

1 "The Story of Oberlin," p. 96. 



A College Agent 



b3 



tutions adopting it, why not plan for this new college 
at Westerville along the same line ? Oberlin was not 
far away ; its people were aggressively religions, and 
if they could succeed with such an enterprise, why not 
others ? So our fathers planned for a manual labor 
department. The trustees voted in August, 1849, 
"that the manual labor system be, and is hereby at- 
tached to this institution, and shall be put into opera- 
tion as soon as practicable, and, furthermore, we in- 
struct the faculty, in the meantime, to give all the 
work possible to the students." In addition to the 
great fact that it would lessen the expenses of stu- 
dents, and be productive of good to them in every 
way, it would allay opposition and bind to the insti- 
tution those who otherwise were not very friendly. 
Even Bishop Russel, to whom reference has been 
made before as opposing Dr. Davis in his efforts to 
secure money, favored something of this kind. He 
says: "A seminary of learning among the United 
Brethren in Christ, to which labor is not appended, 
will not suit the habits of our people nor their views 
of the matter. Should learning prevail without labor, 
it will tend to make men proud; pride and love of 
ease will increase, men will persuade each other to 
go to college rather than become converted/'' etc. 

Accordingly, promises were made in the beginning 
for a manual labor department, and arrangements 
were entered upon to set it on foot. In 1849, the 
trustees resolved it should be attached at as early a 
date as possible. In 1854, it was voted to map out 
an efficient system of manual labor, and require the 



84 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



same to be performed daily by all in attendance upon 
the institution. One year later, of the $40,000 which 
they had planned to raise, one-third was to be put 
into the hands of a manual labor agent for perfecting 
the system. In 1857, the executive committee voted 
that, in their judgment, one professorship of the en- 
dowment fund should be directed to the interest of the 
manual labor department. This was done to aid in 
the sale of scholarships, for which arrangements had 
been made. In 1859, after reciting this history, the 
committee having the matter in charge recommended 
that, as before provided, they pledge $10,000 of en- 
dowment money to the labor department and start a 
plan of work to be arranged for to include all the 
teachers and students in the institution. If this could 
not be done because of financial embarrassment, then 
disconnect the manual labor system entirely from the 
institution. This report was vigorously discussed, 
and with no little manifestation of feeling. Those 
in favor of manual labor thought they had not been 
fairly dealt with. Others, not unfriendly to the plan 
itself, felt that to carry it forward in the present 
financial condition would greatly embarrass them. 
Different plans were proposed, but finally the whole 
question was indefinitely postponed. The matter was 
discussed for two or three years, but this was accepted 
as the final disposition of it. The whole affair left 
some bitterness, which an agent must meet. 

The first work that Bishop Weaver did was to can- 
vass for the sale of scholarships in the bounds of his 
own conference. Arrangements had been made for 



A College Agent 



65 



securing an endowment fund by the sale of scholar- 
ships. Some institutions have been helped by them, 
but for lack of experience in this case it became a 
dismal failure, and nearly crushed the university. 
These vrere sold with the understanding that the par- 
ties buying should give their notes for the amount, 
said notes to be receipted for by the university. As 
soon as $75,000 worth should be sold, the scholar- 
ships would be furnished and the notes collected. 
Had this been done, and the receipts safely invested 
at a fair rate of interest, the institution might have 
profited by it. The hrst mistake was, the scholar- 
ships were sold at ruinously low rates, a perpetual 
scholarship, giving tuition to one student at a time 
as long as the institution lasted, sold for $100; tui- 
tion for eighteen years for $50; for eight years for 
$30: for four years for $20. Then when the time 
came for collections, many claimed they had been un- 
fairly dealt with, as they had bought with the express 
understanding that the manual labor department was 
to be continued ; and as it was now abandoned, they 
refused to pay. Others were allowed to retain their 
money provided they paid the annual interest there- 
on, which was done for a time, and the principal, 
perhaps, finally lost From these and other causes 
considerable disaffection was produced, and, in the 
end, the whole scheme, after years of annoyance, 
had to be abandoned. Some good friends, who had 
already paid, donated their money, others received 
back their notes, and thus, after a great deal of 
trouble and expense in selling these scholarships, the 



86 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



scheme proved a failure, and the university suffered. 
It is not difficult to see how such a condition would 
hedge up the way of an agent, and provide for it that 
his place should be no sinecure. 

The Civil War began in 1861, and this very 
greatly militated against Bishop Weaver's work as 
agent. Even before the fatal shot on Fort Sumter 
the country was more or less disturbed, and men were 
uncertain what would be the result. But when the 
call came for troops, among the first to enlist were 
students from our colleges, sometimes in such num- 
bers as to break up whole classes. With these, often, 
went the professors themselves. Later on, many 
young men were taken from the farms, and burdens 
fell upon those who remained. The cost of the war 
grew heavy, and the men on the farms were pressed 
to raise money to meet it. Prices became inflated, 
and men and women had to practice the most rigid 
economy in order to make ends meet.. It was no time, 
then, to send children away to college. Their services 
were needed at home to help support the family. Not 
only would the agent be hindered in securing students, 
but he found it even more difficult to sell scholarships 
or secure donations. Everything was in uncertainty, 
and men did not know whether, when the end came, 
they would have a country or not. He attests this 
in our Church paper (1863) : "One of our difficul- 
ties is the state of the country. Many are in doubt 
what to do, and are about ready to give up every- 
thing — church, college, and country. But this will 
not do. The affairs of our country are going on well 



A College Agent 



87 



enough. 'Uncle Sam' will guide our ship of state 
into a quiet and peaceful harbor. We regret the loss 
of so many precious lives. Would to God it had to 
be otherwise; but since it is so, and we cannot help 
it, we should not be deterred from doing our duty. 
We will need churches and schools when the war is 
over, just as if it had not been. My principle is, that 
we should do our duty though the heavens fall, and 
if a man were certain of dying in twenty-four hours, 
he should give all the same as if he were sure of liv- 
ing twenty-four years. Our duty to God and the 
church only ends with life." 

Another thing that hindered him not a little, was 
the fact that the board of trustees, who should have 
been his most efficient helpers, were often of little 
service. They were elected by the conferences at 
their annual sessions, and would only serve for a 
year unless reelected. If a man had been a candidate 
for the position of presiding elder, and had not been 
elected, the conference would often elect him trustee 
in order to make the defeat less severe. If, for any 
other reason, it chose to compliment a member, he 
was elected. If he had a son or daughter at college, 
and had a desire to see the town or his children, he 
was commended as trustee. He gave the matter lit- 
tle or no thought before he went, and less when he 
came away. He took no special burden on his heart, 
nor studied how to best serve the institution. The 
president was allowed to manage the inside of the 
college, and the agent must devise ways and means 
to manage the business part of it. 



88 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



If this were the amount of responsibility assumed 
by the trustees, and, in many cases, as the writer 
knows, it expresses the true situation, how much bet- 
ter informed would the people be I Bishop Weaver 
wrote: "The majority of our people do not know 
how much it necessarily costs to build and sustain 
a college. I do not mention this complainingly, for 
they do not have the means of knowing, nor can they 
have, unless they are immediately connected with it* 
On this account, however, some have become discour- 
aged and concluded that we cannot succeed. It is 
true that it costs a considerable amount of money, 
but it is equally true that many other colleges have 
cost ten times as much.'" In the Telescope of August 
12, 1863, the editor notices that the Wesleyan Uni- 
versity of ILiddletown, Connecticut, received an ad- 
dition to its endowment of 850.000; also. Yale re- 
ceived an addition of 865.000 from two persons. 
"Xow, these colleges cost hundreds of thousands of 
dollars before these donations were made. If a few 
men could make Otterbein University such dona- 
tions, we would not need to work and toil as we da 
in order to succeed. On the contrary, we get dona- 
tions of from fifty cents to ten and twenty dollars. It 
costs time and money to gather up a few thousand 
dollars in our way of working. Slow as we may seem 
to travel, however. I am thankful that our condition 
under God's providence, is growing better. Otter- 
bein will yet outride the storm, and others will 
live to see it one of the best colleges in the land. 
Youth will be educated at this school when those 



A College Agent 



89 



who now donate will be sleeping quietly in their 
graves." 

Bishop Weaver had a fondness for writing, and 
so he not only visited and solicited and preached, but 
he also wrote for the Church paper, making sugges- 
tions, allaying prejudices, informing the Church of 
his progress, and doing all he could, in a reasonable 
way, to interest them in the good work. While visit- 
ing in Pennsylvania, in 1861, about the opening of 
the war, he writes of the rich farming land which 
he found, the fine crops, the customs of the people, 
and quickly reaches the main thing in view — the 
college : "Otterbein has some good friends here, who 
contribute to its support. I wish all felt as some do. 
If those not in sympathy would only propose a bet- 
ter plan, I should be glad. Personally, I have no 
choice. Colleges will not be of any service to me so 
far as acquiring an education is concerned. I shall 
have to content myself with what little I have got. 
I am not an old man, and yet I am too old to go to 
college. I am old enough to feel the need of what 
I do not have. We do not need a college simply to 
educate. Other churches have schools, and they will 
educate our children for us, gladly. The Roman 
Catholics will do it cheaply. I am not ready for this. 
We will educate our own children, and teach them 
the doctrines of the gospel of Christ as we understand 
them, and they will teach others when we are dead 
and gone. Some men think God has no use for hu- 
man learning, but they seem to think he has much 
need of human ignorance." 



90 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



In his work as solicitor, he would find a goodly 
number, no doubt, who had grievances, and he would 
be sure to hear them. This prompted a short letter 
in the Telescope on "A Hint to Complainers," after 
this fashion: 

"Are you called upon to give money to various 
benevolent and charitable purposes ? Then thank 
God that the dear agent found you, and that you 
have the blessed privilege of giving to a good cause. 
Don't set up that everlasting howl about hard times, 
high taxes, and the dear knows what all. Take out 
your wallet like a man, and give. It will do you 
good. The half of your complaining is not true, and 
the people know all about it. You talk about being 
so frequently called upon. Well, what of it? You 
scarcely ever gave anything, and what is the use of 
bringing it up. If you would pay half as much as 
you complain, I doubt not but that you would be a 
better Christian. 

"But our country, will complaining save it ? You 
have done enough of that to save a thousand coun- 
tries, if there were any virtue in complaining. But 
the administration is wrong, and the generals are 
wrong, and everything is wrong. I suppose if you 
were President, the war would very soon be over ; or 
if you were at the head of the military department, 
you could thrash a million of men with your little 
finger. You are, no doubt, a great man, but some- 
how the fact is not very widely known yet. Put 
away your complaining, and put on some courage. 

"And now, to all complainers, great and small, rich 



A College Agent 



91 



and poor, old and young, sick and well, allow me to 
advise you that if you want to save your credit, stop 
it forthwith; and if you cannot do it right off, just 
get an agency of some kind, and go around among the 
people begging money and listening to their com- 
plaints, and if that does not cure you thoroughly and 
forever, then your case is hopeless." 

He realized that he had no easy task on his hands. 
He must do his best to secure students, and in war 
time that was difficult to do. He must solicit money 
to pay on the debt, and must meet current expenses, 
and, at the same time, guide and inspire the ministry 
and laity of the Church. To do this he faithfully 
used the Church press. He appealed to the loyalty 
of traveling and local ministers as follows: "If we 
want this Church to flourish in years to come, we 
must do all in our power to promote her interests. 
I cannot now think of any way to do this other than 
by saving our youth. Bring them to Christ, and 
under the fostering care of the Church have them 
grow up to mature years. If we do not care for 
them, they will go elsewhere, and give their talents 
to other churches. We have a good school at Wester- 
ville, and you owe it to these young people and to 
the Church to direct them there. Many of us were 
taken in by the Church when we were but boys. She 
has nourished us and brought us up, and it is no 
more than right that we should throw our whole soul 
and body into the work of the Church, and do all we 
can to sustain her institutions. I should feel that I 
was recreant to the Church and to the cause of God 



92 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



if I did not do all I could to build up her interests. 
Can you not afford to recommend this school to your 
people, and urge them to patronize it ? We are strug- 
gling hard, and, by the blessing of God, I believe we 
will succeed. 

"The school has sent many a brave boy into the 
army. Xot a rebel has ever appeared at the college. 
While all this is true, that we must sustain the Gov- 
ernment, yet we must not forget the Church and her 
interests. God will have a church when the rebels are 
all dead, and it is our duty to promote the welfare 
of the Church as well as to save the country." 

One vigorous article, in which he addresses the 
parents as to their duty to their children, is followed 
by such pertinent questions as the following, sug- 
gested, possibly, as Miss Willard used to say, to pro- 
duce an "arrest of thought, 7 ' and, no doubt, in many 
cases it had the desired effect: "Would it be a sin, 
especially for a Christian, to pay as much to support 
the cause of God as he does to support the civil gov- 
ernment ?" "What is the use for men to pray for the 
general diffusion of knowledge and the spread of 
Christianity, and at the same time be unwilling to 
aid by their means ?" "Why is the sin of covetous- 
ness more frequently rebuked in the Scriptures than 
any other special sin ?" 

When he met men, as he did, who urged that a 
majority of our preachers did not think that ministers 
needed to be educated, and that even some of our 
bishops, as we have before shown, were opposed to 
the founding of the college, he had a word of instruc- 



A College Agent 



93 



tion for them : "I know it has been, and still is ad- 
vocated that ministers especially do not need to be 
educated. If they are called of God to that work, 
he will help them to preach. So I believe; but will 
God help a man to preach who refuses to use the 
means already put within his reach ? Some men 
of powerful ( V) faith may believe this, but I don't, 
and I do not want to believe it. I do not want to be- 
lieve that the God of the Bible will indulge men in 
such a course of disrespect to him and his arrange- 
ments. All men cannot be educated ; they have not 
the means, nor perhaps the opportunity. They (like 
myself) must do the best they can; educate them- 
selves as best they can under the disadvantages with 
which they may be surrounded. That some men have 
not had the opportunity to be thoroughly trained, 
is only another argument why those who can should 
be well educated. The Church greatly needs edu- 
cated men and women, and I trust that God will give 
abundant success to the Christian educators of our 
country and of the world." 

He turns the tables on his opposers, and shows 
that they are not only ignorant, but, because of this 
ignorance, criminal in their hostility. 

"Those who oppose education as a necessary in- 
strument in the hands of the church of Christ for 
its defense and promotion must be ignorant of the 
relations of science to religion. They must be igno- 
rant, too, of the advantages and blessings which they 
are constantly realizing from it. Take education, 
with its advantages, away from the church, and what 



94 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

would be the result % She would be without a Bible ; 
without note or comment on the sacred Scriptures; 
without a written book on theology; without a page 
of history; without a book of any kind; without a 
printing-press ; yea, more than this, without an exist- 
ence in the world. I do not want to put education 
above religion, but I put it just where God put it, 
and has always used it; and if God has not acted 
wisely in using education in such an intimate rela- 
tion to Christianity, others may complain; I shall 
not." 

If this teaching be true, then those men who neg- 
lect to use this means of promoting the growth of the 
Church are greatly guilty. "It is surprising to find 
men, and especially ministers, at this day with hearts 
as cold as ice on this subject, and, from stupidity 
or some other well known cause, who never once urge 
upon their people the importance and necessity of 
education, and of the growing demand upon the 
church of Christ to superintend this department. Do 
they not know that at whatever time, and in what- 
ever country, the church did not, to a great extent, 
control the education of the youth, infidelity and 
superstition prevailed ? Shall the church give into 
the hands of her enemies this polished sword ? God 
never intended it to be so. It is a working force in 
the hands of the church, and no man who properly 
understands the subject can either oppose it or be 
indifferent to its progress. We need educated men 
to defend the doctrines of the Bible. We must 
meet infidelity and error within these, our fortifi- 



A College Agent 



95 



cations. They have chosen the weapons, and we must 
accept" 

While his work as an agent was a hard and trying 
one, and, in many respects, an unpleasant and thank- 
less one, yet now and then it was relieved by some 
amusing incident, which lightened the burden for 
a moment and made it easier to bear. If a circum- 
stance happening to himself or to others had a ludi- 
crous side to it, he was sure to see it. While thought- 
ful and serious, and, at times, a little discouraged, 
he always sought the cheery side of things, and always 
found it. 

We find the following, written October 13, 1858, 
when the author, no doubt, was in a genial mood: 
"Xot very long since, in one of the towns of northern 
Ohio, you might have seen a tall, slender man, some 
six feet four and one-half inches in height, hurriedly 
passing through the streets, sometimes walking, some- 
times running. His long, lean form, no doubt, ex- 
cited the levity of those who saw him. All this did 
not in the least deter the gigantic runner. On and 
on he sped, and when, almost out of breath, he reached 
the depot, looking around him, he espied the iron 
horse backed on the switch. 'All safe/ he said to 
himself; 'I have time enough yet. I will take my 
breath a little, and then find a suitable seat' Some 
one standing by said to the stranger, 'You need not 
be in a hurry ; you can get on when they back to the 
platform.' Hearing this, the stranger stood still, with 
his carpet-bag in one hand and his cloak in the other. 
Presently there was a sharp whistle, and the train 



96 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



moved slowly on ; but, alas ! when too late, he made 
the mortifying discovery that the train was gone. 
'Where/ he exclaimed, with evident emotion, 'where 
is the man who said there was time enough yet V He 
was not to be found" 

In 1859, he reports the following: "I must re- 
port my trip from West Unity to Stryker. I went to 
the post-office, where the hack always stopped, ex- 
pecting to see a decent looking vehicle ; but, alas ! it 
was nothing superior to an old two-horse wagon, with 
a sort of covering, which had all the appearance of 
antiquity. It was difficult to keep down my natural 
risibilities. I looked first this way, then that way. 
Presently the driver, with seeming pride, bawled out> 
'All aboard for Stryker !' I crawled in, there being 
no other passengers going that way, and, hard to re- 
late, the roof of that old dirty wagon was so low I 
could not sit with my hat on, and, the day being some- 
what damp, I dare not ride with it off. So, humiliat- 
ing as it was, I crept in behind the seat, partly sitting 
and partly kneeling, in about any kind of shape. In 
this way I rode seven miles ; and then, to add to the 
interest, the driver charged me half a dollar. It is 
a burning shame that men who pretend to keep up 
accommodations for travelers should have such a 
vehicle, and then charge such an enormous price. The 
judgment will sit." 

While acting as agent, he had occasion to tell the 
following, which will bear repeating: "Some men 
think and act like the Irishman. One day, when at 
church, the deacon called on him for some money 



A College Agent 



97 



for missionary purposes. He excused himself, but the 
deacon urged him to give. The Irishman answered 
that he must pay his debts first, and then he would 
give. The deacon reminded him that he owed the 
Lord a great deal, and ought to pay him. He an- 
swered, 'Faith, deacon, I know it ; but he don't crowd 
me like my other creditors/ " 

On another trip, the following suggested itself: 
"I have traveled considerably in different directions, 
but I do not remember ever seeing larger 'hoops' than 
I have seen this trip. I do not mind seeing small 
hoops, but when they are from sixteen to twenty-five 
feet in circumference, I think they are rather large. 
It does look so funny %o see a lady 'hooped' out in 
full style, presenting something of the appearance 
of an Egyptian pyramid, and then by her side a gen- 
tleman with pantaloons on just as tight as the bark 
on a cherry-tree. If the contrast is as great in sub- 
stance as in appearance, this union is a plain viola- 
tion of the injunction of the apostle, 'Be ye not un- 
equally yoked together.' " 

On another occasion, he had some distance to walk 
in order to reach a protracted meeting then in prog- 
ress. He says: "On the way, I was overtaken by 
3. boy who was returning from a sawmill. I asked 
permission to ride, which he granted. There was no 
box on the sled, nothing to sit on but the naked 
benches, but I concluded that this was better than 
walking, as the roads were in bad condition for foot- 
wear. The team was not as good as some I had seen, 
hut, by almost constant pounding, the driver managed 



98 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



to keep up something of a motion. On the way, we 
met a number of persons who were not a little amused 
at our appearance. The driver, being something of 
a philosopher, paid no attention to the grinning. On 
he went, dashing and slashing, at the rapid rate of 
not less than one and one-half miles per hour. Fin- 
ally, he drew up the reins and informed me that he 
was at home. I thanked him two or three times for 
his kindness, and then went on my way, considerably 
refreshed." 

At one time, he was on his way to Illinois. Beyond 
Lafayette, Indiana, his car went off the track, turned 
over twice, and settled bottom side up. He says of 
this experience : "I had often speculated in my own 
mind as to what I should do in a case of this kind. 
I had come to a conclusion, and yet I was not certain 
how it would be. But it so happened I did just as 
I had thought to do. When I found that the car was 
off the track, I took firm hold of the arms of the seat 
and held on until the car was steady. I cannot de- 
scribe the circles I may have made during the revolu- 
tions, but, judging from my own length and the 
height and width of the car, there must have been 
some slight interferences of the extremities. How- 
ever this may have been, when the car was steady, I 
was still hanging to the arm of the seat, which was 
then overhead. The rest were all piled up s^ong 
the baggage, broken glass, and seats. Some of the 
men rushed out through the windows, which was all 
of no use. They could much more readily have gone 
out at the doors. I grabbed up my baggage and went 



^1 College Agent 99 

out as regularly as possible, and found, on examina- 
tion, that I was not in any way injured, not even 
scratched." May not this incident have suggested to 
him his work on "Divine Providence" ? 



Lcf C. 



CHAPTEK VL 



A College Agent, Completed. 

Bishop Weaver was a trustee of Otterbein Uni- 
versity, and was present at the session of the Board 
in 1857. The executive committee had prepared, and 
the Board endorsed a plan of endowment by scholar- 
ships. It was proposed to raise $150,000. As soon 
as $75,000 worth were sold, the scholarships should 
be given and notes taken for the same. It was voted 
to elect three agents for this work, and Bishop Weaver 
was chosen as one of them, and went to his own 
conference (Muskingum) to work. Later, the trus- 
tees arranged, we think unwisely, to place two other 
agents in the field to raise a fund of $60,000, with 
which to perfect the manual labor department, fur- 
nish a library, and to provide suitable apparatus and 
other needed improvements. Having labored for 
four months, he was invited to close up his other en- 
gagements and move to Westerville, which he did in 
March, 1858, so as to be in reach of the executive 
committee and aid them by his counsels. It was 
voted that notes on contingent fund would be col- 
lectible when $40,000 was secured, as this would 
furnish the buildings, pay off all debts, and place 
the institution on a good footing. He was sent East 
to solicit, as well as to borrow money temporarily for 
the good of the institution. 

100 



A College Agent, Completed 101 



At the session of the trustees in 1859, it was an- 
nounced that $75,000 had been pledged to the en- 
dowment on the scholarship plan, and that steps 
would be taken at once to secure notes and money and 
give scholarships. Bishop Weaver had done very 
successful work in this department, so it was proposed 
at this session to make him soliciting agent. While 
pushing the scholarship plan, this part of the work 
had made little progress. He was elected, and then 
tendered his resignation, but finally withdrew it. 
This step probably grew out of a proposition to re- 
duce his salary below $500. When the executive 
committee met and looked the ground over, it was 
agreed, "in consideration of the unfavorable condi- 
tion of the country for obtaining donations and mak- 
ing collections, — the money pressure being very great, 
and people now suffering from the panic produced 
by the injury done to crops; all this conspiring to 
hedge up the way of collecting or soliciting agents ; 
and it being very necessary to economize the expendi- 
tures of money as far as possible, — not to appoint an 
additional agent on endowment at present, but to 
transfer J. Weaver to that department until other- 
wise ordered, with the additional reasons that he has 
been over the field and can therefore work more effi- 
ciently than one who has not been so engaged here- 
tofore." He was assigned to Miami Conference, but 
later was sent East. 

At times, the executive committee hardly knew 
what to do or which way to turn. Creditors were 
crowding them, and money was scarce. Men who 



102 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



had grievances, — and they were not a few, — found 
this a good time to air them. They asked the four 
agents previously appointed to assist in devising a 
plan of help. In this report, they suggest "that 
whatever differences and opinions may exist, we have 
not time now to stop to discuss them, but will lay 
them down, and when Otterbein University is a fixed 
fact, and we have reached the shore and have noth- 
ing else of greater importance to God's cause to look 
after, we may take them up and discuss them; but 
for the present, we recommend constant and fervent 
prayer, with a union of effort, to promote the inter- 
ests of the school." All this has the ring of Bishop 
Weaver's pen. All resigned, and he was reelected to 
the scholarship agency. 

The treasurer of the college, Dr. Thomas McFad- 
den, in his report for 1860, says: "I cannot make 
any statement of the cash collected on endowment 
principal. The agents, in collecting money on prin- 
cipal and applying it on their own salaries or to the 
wants of the institution, have made their reports, not 
to my office, but to the resident agent" — a temporary 
misappropriation of funds, which later helped to 
wreck the endowment plan. 

In 1861, Bishop Weaver was again elected gen- 
eral financial agent. There are insinuations in the 
records that this was a stormy session. When debts 
are pressing, and no money to pay them, men are not 
always in the best of humor. There seemed to be an 
earnest desire for larger donations, so as to help 
more speedily out of the trouble, and, with a view to 



A College Agent, Completed 



103 



opening the way, he resigned, and D. K. Flickinger 
was elected. He took two or three days to consider 
the matter, then finally declined, and Bishop Weaver 
was again elected. The trustees agreed, substantially, 
in the plan of the previous year. The territory was 
divided into two districts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
Maryland, and Canada constituted the east district, 
to which Bishop Weaver was assigned. Ohio, and 
Michigan constituted the west district, and L. Davis 
was asked to give his whole time to the work this 
year. By this time liabilities had reached nearly 
$25,000, and matters looked a little discouraging. 
It was about this time Bishop Weaver gave us this 
account of the pleasures of travel: "Let the man 
who thinks traveling is always pleasant, consider the 
following facts: April 7, I started for home; had 
been absent five weeks; anxious to see home and 
family ; arrived at Coshocton at 8 a. m. ; train should 
leave in thirty minutes ; time up, and no train. Go 
to telegraph office ; agent cannot tell when train will 
come; look up and down the track, but no train in 
sight; three teeth aching horridly; go to drug-store; 
have teeth plugged with cotton saturated with oil of 
cloves ; hurry back to depot for fear of losing train ; 
teeth still aching. Noon, and no train yet ; eat din- 
ner, and try the sensation of cold water on aching 
teeth; buy the latest news, but cannot read; from 
six to twelve teeth aching ; don't care whether school 
keeps or not ; patience exerting all her power ; danger 
of reason being dethroned. Four and a half p. m., 
train arrives, and soon all on board ; arrive at New- 



104 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

ark at 5: 30 o'clock; teeth aching worse and worse; 
there missed connection, and must remain five hours ; 
can't read ; can't sleep ; can't eat ; head now aching ; 
suppose it is all right, but cannot exactly see it; 10 :30 
o'clock, train arrives, and once more we are going; 
11:30 o'clock, we arrive in Columbus; seized my 
carpet-bags (I had two heavy ones) and started for 
a hotel, and, after a brisk walk of half a mile, reached 
the place ; beds were all full, and no chance of remain- 
ing for the balance of the night ; teeth are in active 
service ; patience nearly all gone ; seized my luggage 
and plunged into the dark to hunt another hotel; 
found one ; landlord kind, but said beds were all full ; 
no chance for sleeping; asked permission to remain 
in the bar-room ; it was granted, and I was thankful 
for small favors ; the gaslight was extinguished, and 
I was left to my own reflections; by the dim light 
of a little coal-fire in the grate I chanced to espy a 
settee, which, thanks to the maker, was almost eight 
feet long, and afforded me an opportunity to stretch 
my frame on it, and, with a carpet-bag for my pillow, 
I essayed to sleep, but owing to the uproar in the 
region of my ivories I made a total failure. Morn- 
ing, yes, blessed morning, the brightest and sweetest 
hour of the day, at length came, and I got up ; teeth 
still aching ; not a bone in my body seemed free from 
pain ; nine hours until hack time ; dreadful hours they 
were; 2: 30 p. m., hack starts, and at five I reach 
home, teeth still aching. Merciful Father, deliver 
me from another such tour !" 

In 1862, the territory was divided into three dis- 



A College Agent, Completed 105 



tricts, one of which was assigned to J. Weaver, an- 
other to J. Walter, and the third to L. Davis. Bishop 
Weaver had Virginia, Parkersburg, Pennsylvania, 
East Pennsylvania, and Allegheny Conferences as- 
signed to him. This was later modified by a plan 
submitted to the executive committee, and which they 
endorsed. The failure of the scholarship plan had 
added to the general debt. The burdens of the war 
and other hindrances had more or less interfered with 
the getting of money. The college had commenced 
with a debt, and, while now its assets were greater, 
its debt was also larger. Some plan had to be de- 
vised whereby money could be secured more rap- 
idly to meet this deficiency or wreck might come. 
The responsibility for devising plans rested mainly 
on Bishop Weaver, as financial agent. Having made 
a fair estimate of the debt, he concluded that $30,000 
would pay that and cover the expense of securing 
subscriptions, if secured quickly, and complete the 
new building, which was then unfinished. He took 
the reports of the various conferences, and made a 
division to them in proportion to membership and 
ability to pay, as well as a pro rata assessment to each 
field of labor to cover this indebtedness. His idea 
was to arouse the enthusiasm of the members in the 
bounds of the cooperating conferences. Of the 
amount pledged, none was to be collected until the 
whole sum asked for had been secured. The plan 
was submitted to the executive committee, which ap- 
proved, if he had faith that he could make it succeed. 
His purpose was to put a number of agents in the 



106 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



field for a short time and rush the matter, rather than 
have few men and drag along until the people were 
tired. In order to test the matter before it was finally 
determined upon, he took a few fields in Sandusky 
Conference and went to work, and succeeded. When 
the board of trustees met, the following year, they 
did not indorse his plan, but, in their judgment, 
larger amounts should be secured from fewer per- 
sons, and thus save time and money. To carry out 
this measure, the board of trustees elected D. K. 
Flickinger as agent. He was in office for a few 
days, seeing what could be done. Xot reaching re- 
sults as he expected, he resigned, and Bishop "Weaver 
was again appointed to carry out his own plan. Even 
to his latest day he was of the conviction that if he 
could have been unanimously and earnestly sup- 
ported, he would have received pledges for the amount 
desired in one year. During the year 1862, he vis- 
ited the Auglaize Conference, then in session, as an 
agent of Otterbein University. Some resolutions had 
been read on the state of the country. It was a very 
gloomy time. It looked a little, for a time, as if the 
South might conquer us either by Southern prowess 
or by force of internal dissensions. Bishop Weaver 
was called on to make some remarks, and, among 
other things, said : cc We are coming to a point where 
some of us who are preaching will need to enter the 
ranks to help to save the country. We are like the 
boy who treed the coon on Sunday. He said to him- 
self, 'It will not do to shoot it on Sunday, nor to cut 
down the tree, but something must be done to get the 



A College Agent, Completed 



107 



coon. 7 So, it seems to me that something must 
be done by the Christian people to save the 
nation." 

Mr. Flickinger, of whom mention has been made, 
once said to the writer : " When I was in the mission 
rooms in the Publishing House, one day Bishop 
Weaver called to see me, and said to me, 'Flickinger, 
tell me how to find a man who will give $1,000 to 
Otterbein University.' I answered him, 'The only 
way to find such a man is to go out and make him. 
You go out and find a man who ought to give the 
$1,000 to Otterbein, and then, by argument, persua- 
sion, and logic, make him willing to give it.' Bishop 
Weaver could do good talking for money, but the 
best thing is to get the money." 

Several agents were appointed, and they were to 
make monthly reports of their work to L. Davis, the 
resident agent of the college. It was thought this 
would not only prompt the agents to more vigorous 
action, but would encourage the people. By seeing 
what others had done, they would be more encouraged 
to take hold and help. In the report for January, 
1863, L. Davis says : "J. Weaver— $136— says, 'The 
brethren on Eichland and Alum Creek, Sandusky, 
gave me a good reception.' W. B. Davis — $53 ; 
'raised this in five days ; did not begin till late.' D. 
Shrader — $195 ; 'raised this in ten days ; plan works 
well.' J. Walter — $40; 'worked only a few days; 
was attending conference.' L. B. Perkins — $180 — 
says, 'People are interested.' William McKee in- 
cluded January report in what he did since confer- 



108 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



ence, $688.45. J. B. Resler, only recently appointed; 
had not yet commenced work." 

The report for February gives a sum total of 
$3,047.38. Bishop Weaver solicited in Westerville, 
$660.75. Said, "The brethren responded most cheer- 
fully, and will do more." The writer of this vol- 
ume sent a statement to the Telescope during this 
same month, as follows: "The prudential com- 
mittee called for $30,000. The agents responded to 
it, and have gone into the field fully determined to 
raise the amount. They have a heart to work because 
the welfare of the Church demands it. Since the 
present plan has been adopted, they have been in the 
field less than a month, and report very favorably. 
As soon as the people feel that we mean to succeed, 
and that if we must go down, it shall be with every 
penny at work ; as soon as they feel that their money 
will be safely invested, so soon will that investment 
be made. One of the agents who is familiar with the 
whole field, says that at the rate they are working, 
the whole amount will be pledged in a year." 

The editor of the Telescope (July 15, 1863) says: 
"Allow us to add that the two W.'s are making a 
raid into the Miami Valley. And who are the two 
W.'s? Weaver and Walter, or Walter and Weaver, 
just as you prefer. And they are here to speak some 
kind words and to solicit generous deeds for the uni- 
versity. That is what has brought them to this val- 
ley, where money is abundant and where the people 
are intelligent and liberal. These dear brethren come 
here with no buncombe propositions, no moonshine 



A College Agent, Completed 109 



schemes, but with the plain truth. They have a good 
cause, and are determined to sustain it by Christian 
measures. Let us each say to them, 'God speed you.' " 
In August, 1863, L. Davis makes report for the 
previous month of July, with comments thereon: 
"J. B. Kesler, $27 6 ; 'this is a hard and slow business ; 
try it who will.' 'Darkness may last for a night, but 
joy cometh in the morning' (Davis). D. Shrader, 
$115; 'could have done more but for the Morgan 
raid; had to watch my horse at night, and dare not 
take him out on the road in the daytime.' 'Well, 
Morgan is done gone, and we hope may have a good 
time in the Ohio Tavern, No. 1' (Davis). W. B. 
Davis, $304; 'pretty hard times to get donations. 
The people are afraid of the draft, and are holding 
on to their money ; think it will be better soon ; not 
discouraged, however, but will persevere.' William 
McKee, $103 ; 'I think it might have done some 
persons a kindness if Morgan had stopped with them 
and fed his horses out of their granaries.' 'I suspect 
you are about right, Brother Mc. ; neither God nor 
the Church could get money out of some persons, 
but Morgan could' (Davis). J. Weaver, $150 ; 'spent 
most of my time looking after other interests of the 
college' 

"Of the $30,000 sought, we now have $13,000 
pledged. If Providence continues to smile on us, we 
will, within the college year, reach the amount. 
When this is done, our college is safe. May God give 
us abundant success." 

August 19, Bishop Weaver writes: "It may be 



110 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



interesting to inform you what we are trying to do. 
A few months ago, we had a meeting of the agents, 
and it was resolved to raise $30,000. This sum, it 
was thought, would complete the building and pay 
our entire indebtedness. We proposed, further, to 
allow any one of our friends, who might so desire, 
to give a conditional obligation, to be paid when the 
whole amount was secured by note. Up to this date 
we have $13,000 pledged, and we are not without 
good hope of reaching the whole amount. The labor 
is hard and difficult, but we are willing to put up 
with this if we can only reach the goal at last. We 
call upon you all in the name of our educational in- 
terests to do what you can. . . . Many of you 
are abundantly able to help us, and a goodly number 
have responded, and I believe God will help us 
through. If my heart does not deceive me, and 
wealth would not ruin me, I believe if I had as much 
of this world's treasures as some men have, I would 
not ask a single man to help. I would claim the privi- 
lege of doing it all myself. But, calamitous as it may 
seem, I am not rich, and must content myself with 
doing what I can. Let every one do what he can, and 
we will succeed." 

Again, he writes to explain the situation, and that 
the agents are doing all they can: "Our friends 
sometimes become impatient that we do not move 
more rapidly. I wish we could, but we must move 
as best we can, hoping still to gain the summit. I 
have noticed, during the past year, several instances 
where men have donated from ten to one hundred 



A College Agent, Completed 111 



thousand dollars to different colleges. Such dona- 
tions soon establish a college, and just as soon as such 
friends gather around Otterbein University we will 
move more rapidly. I do not complain, but still 
when we have to pick it up in sums ranging from 
twenty-five cents to ten dollars, it is comparatively 
slow business." 

In December of the same year (1863), he makes 
this earnest appeal: "If there ever was a time in 
the history of this institution when its friends should 
not only feel, but give evidence of a deep interest, 
it is now. Of the $30,000 sought, we have now se- 
cured $18,000. The salvation of the college is made 
to depend on the consummation of this plan. Scores 
of men who gave their obligations, to be paid on con- 
dition that $30,000 be secured, are ready to pay, and 
would pay on short notice if the whole amount were 
raised. Thousands of dollars are ready for the insti- 
tution if the whole amount were pledged. Is not 
this enough to influence men who have the means to 
lend us a helping hand ?" 

By the 4th of May, 1864, there had been pledged 
about $24,000 of the amount sought. He urges the 
membership to speedily pledge the balance, and then 
the college can pay every debt it owes and complete 
the building. "My interests as a Christian and minis- 
ter are identified with the United Brethren Church. 
She took me up when a boy, and has treated me 
kindly. I love her principles and institutions, and 
cannot do otherwise than speak for her interests. I 
have written many things in behalf of the college — 



112 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



perhaps too much; but my heart is full. When I 
see young men and women coming from every part 
to obtain an education, and thereby the Christian 
influences of a good faculty and of the members of 
the Church, and I am permitted to meet them at 
the altar of prayer and witness their conversion to 
God; and then, too, when I remember that this col- 
lege is well represented, east, west, north, and south, 
in the army, and in heaven as well, I cannot but 
speak words of cheer and hope in behalf of Otterbein 
University. If I say too much, forgive me." 

About the same time, a correspondent follows up 
this statement by saying: "It has required all our 
agents about eighteen months to secure $25,000. 
Think of it ! Four or five, or maybe more, agents 
engaged eighteen months in securing, not money, but 
notes to the amount named above, in a church num- 
bering one hundred thousand members !" 

At a meeting of the board of trustees, June 7, 
1862, before the plan referred to above had been 
agreed upon, Bishop Weaver was authorized to visit 
Allegheny, Pennsylvania, East Pennsylvania, Park- 
ersburg, and Virginia conferences. He attended the 
session of the Allegheny Conference, held at Liver- 
pool, Pennsylvania, and, at its close, spent some three 
weeks in canvassing. He says, "I found some warm 
and zealous friends of our educational interests; 
some, perhaps, could bear a little more enthusiasm, 
but I shall not complain." One of the resolutions 
adopted by the conference he was sure would do 
good if carried out: "Resolved, That we as minis- 



A College Agent, Completed 



113 



ters in charge of districts, circuits, missions, and sta- 
tions, will, within the first three months of this con- 
ference year, present the claims of Otterbein Uni- 
versity at our several appointments, and secure by 
donations in cash and notes whatever we can, the 
notes to be paid on or before the first of May, and 
the whole amount to be forwarded to <L B. Hester." 
From here he went to Pennsylvania Conference, had 
an interesting session, and was kindly received. They 
considered the interests of the college, and a majority 
were friendly. "Some, however, for reasons best 
known to themselves, exhibit much less sympathy 
then they do for other interests of the Church. It 
is not my place to complain, and I shall not do it. 
The Church in Pennsylvania and Ohio must take 
care of the college until our calamities are overpast. 
The day is growing brighter, and we will, and must 
succeed. Of the abundance God has given you, lend 
a portion to the cause of education." 

In 1864, the board of trustees passed the follow- 
ing resolution : "The report of J. Weaver gives evi- 
dence that he has pursued a very proper course, and 
we consider him worthy of our entire confidence and 
entitled to our warmest thanks for his untiring en- 
ergy and judicious management, by which the credit 
of the college has been secured, its appearance im- 
proved, and its future prospects so largely increased. 
Let us thank God and take courage." 

In his last report as general agent, June, 1865, he 
says : ec We have sustained considerable loss in assets 
because of deaths and removals and frequent calls 



114 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



for men to enter the service of their country. These 
frequent calls for men and money have very much 
retarded the work of collecting. Now that the war 
is over, we may reasonably hope for a brighter day 
to dawn upon Otterbein University." 

Had the $30,000 been promptly pledged, as per- 
haps it would have been had there been concert of ac- 
tion, and as promptly paid, it would have left the 
college in a safe condition ; but these were war times,, 
and pledges honestly made, and with good interest, 
were not always paid. The board, at this same ses- 
sion, when Mr. Weaver retired from the agency, 
passed the following resolutions: "In view of the 
fact that from four to six thousand dollars have been 
consumed in the long delay in securing the amount, 
and from persons having subscribed joining the army, 
and from accumulations of interest, and other causes, 
thus failing by so much of meeting our indebtedness 
and making the necessary improvements upon the col- 
lege building ; therefore, the agent be required to con- 
tinue to solicit donations to make up this deficiency." 

So his official work ended; he had been called 
to a different sphere. It had been a severe, but, after 
all, a good school. For eight long years he had toiled 
always, and toiled successfully, at what has been 
called by some the thankless work of a college agent* 
He had learned more of his own powers and possi- 
bilities, wherein he was strong and wherein he was 
wanting. He had ascertained more of the peculiari- 
ties and weaknesses of human nature than ever he 
had known before. He had learned of the selfishness 



A College Agent, Completed 



115 



of the many as well as of the liberality and generosity 
of the few ; of the narrowness of many, their cramped, 
confined lives, and of the broader view of others. He 
had learned how to adapt himself to the homes and 
hearts of a rural people, so as to allay their selfish- 
ness and awaken their generosity. He had learned 
of the sterling qualities of our people, and their de- 
voted Christian lives. His own views of colleges and 
college education had been greatly broadened. Al- 
ways in sympathy with them, so far as he knew their 
purpose, henceforth he was the fast friend of college 
and seminary training. He saw, as he never saw 
before, the great blessing college training must bring, 
especially to the ministry of the Church, and his con- 
duct toward these institutions in the future was clear 
and decided. 

Amid the sorrows and desolation and gloom of the 
Civil War, which none can understand so well as those 
who passed through them; amid the dissatisfaction 
and complaining of what seemed to some to be unfair 
dealing concerning the so-called manual labor prob- 
lem, having pressed men to buy scholarships, and 
then having been compelled to go to them again and 
tell them the system had failed, and that the promises 
of the managers could not be kept ; amid all these, and 
many other discouraging surroundings, his courage 
and faith never flinched. He kept heart and hope and 
faith in his patrons. So far as one man could do, 
under heavy financial depression in the country, he 
kept the financial standing good. Amid the complain- 
ing and fretting of some who should have stood by 



116 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



him, and the indifference of others who should have 
held up his hands by pen, and prayer, and persistent 
work at home and abroad, under any and all circum- 
stances, he kept cheerily on his way, bearing the heavy 
burden put upon him until relieved from duty, and 
called to another field elsewhere. Otterbein Univer- 
sity owes him an everlasting debt of gratitude for 
what he sought to do for her. 




Rev. Jonathan Weaver.— About 1862. 



CHAPTER VII. 
Becomes a Bishop — 1865. 

The General Conference of 1861 met in Wester- 
ville, Ohio, and Bishop Weaver was a delegate thereto. 
Here he received twenty-one votes for bishop; later, 
was elected bishop for the Pacific Coast, but, after 
due consideration, he resigned the position. The ex- 
pense of removal seemed too great for his limited 
resources. The condition of things at the Coast 
seemed to demand that a visit be made during the 
summer, and his circumstances would not allow him 
to go. Finally, D. Shuck was elected in his stead, 
and went to the Coast. In June, 1861, the trustees 
of Otterbein University elected him general financial 
agent. This increased his responsibility, for now the 
financial management of the institution was substan- 
tially in his hands. 

During the following four years, he kept his pen 
busy in writing, as occasion would allow, for the 
Church paper. Its readers soon knew what he 
thought, for he had nothing to conceal from them, and 
they soon learned that, while moderately conservative, 
he was, at the same time, a growing man. In his 
work as agent, he had visited a number of conferences, 
and had become personally acquainted with the min- 
istry. He had talked with our members around their 

117 



118 Biography of Jonathan Weave?' 

own firesides. He had shown his skill in raising 
money, and in such a way that those who gave had 
kindly memories of him. He knew not only how to 
plan, but how to consummate his own plans. Who so 
competent as he to lead the whole Church out into 
new fields of activity and point her members to more 
glorious things yet to be achieved ? So, when he came 
to the General Conference of 1865, which met in 
Western, Iowa, he was already a well-known and 
well-tried man, whom the Church could afford to 
trust. 

In the early part of the session, it was proposed 
to raise a fund of forty thousand dollars, so as to pay 
off the heavy debt the Publishing House was carry- 
ing. It was urged, among other reasons for so doing, 
that only in this way could the Telescope be enlarged. 
It was too small, and did not properly represent us, 
said some. One delegate favored the proposition to 
raise the money, but he did not like to hear contumely 
cast on this paper. He was not ashamed of its size. 
It was brains, not the size of the sheet, that made 
the paper; it compared favorably in size with 
other papers, and few, if any, surpassed it in 
ability. 

In commenting on this statement, Bishop Weaver 
amused the Conference not a little by accepting the 
statement made, that it was brains and not size that 
made a paper. For himself, he had come to the con- 
clusion that, no matter what amount of brains a man 
had, he must have space on which to spread them. If 
not, then one had better reduce his brains one-half. 



Becomes a Bishop 



119 



Perhaps a greater contraction of the brains might 
have a beneficial effect. After all that had been said 
about brains, he had no doubt all desired a larger 
paper. Many would write more if they knew there 
was room for their contributions in the Telescope. 
He liked the brains idea, for he was himself a con- 
tributor. 

The bishops, in their address, among other things, 
said: "We desire to call attention to the fact 
that something further should be done for the train- 
ing of our young ministers. Never was there a time 
when there was wanting more than now a thoroughly 
cultivated ministry in this Church. We suggest that 
some plan, superior, if possible, to the present course 
of reading and often too slight examinations, be 
adopted and imposed upon the annual conferences, 
to receive to the pulpit improved ability and mental 
training." 

A committee on education was appointed, and when, 
they reported they recommended the establishing of 
a theological department in Otterbein University. 
This was a very indiscreet thing to do, and Bishop 
Weaver had the good sense to see it. Not but such 
an institution was a desirable thing, but these men, 
trained as they had been, were in no mood to adopt 
it. To prevent its destruction, he had the report re- 
ferred back to the committee, intending to have it 
amended, which he did by the following: "We 
recommend that the trustees of our several colleges 
take under advisement the propriety of connecting 
with their schools, as soon as practicable, biblical de- 



120 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



partments, embracing the course of study recom- 
mended in our Discipline." 

It might not be out of place to state parenthetically, 
as a matter of history, that the conference of 1848, 
which met at Warner's meeting-house, Stark County, 
Ohio, beginning November 2, and at which time and 
place Bishop Weaver was ordained, passed the follow- 
ing resolution : "That we as members of the annual 
conference pray the General Conference, through the 
medium of our delegates, that they introduce a clause 
into the Discipline governing our institutions of 
learning, so that they shall not become theological in- 
stitutions, but remain as literary institutions." 

Bishop Weaver followed this with some appro- 
priate and kindly remarks, urging that we were not 
yet financially prepared for a theological department 
by twenty or thirty or forty years. But students 
were converted at Otterbein, and felt called upon to 
preach. Why not teach them such things as they are 
required to study by the annual conference? The 
ministry is the highest office on earth. If a man fol- 
lows any other pursuit, he must be trained for it. 
True, Jesus had called unlearned men, but he taught 
them long and faithfully before sending them out. 
God will help men to preach, but he did not believe 
that God had placed himself under obligations to 
work a miracle every time a man preached. Some 
said they would go into the pulpit and give the people 
just what God gave them. He knew a man who went 
into the pulpit and waited for the Lord to give him 
something, and the Lord gave him nothing. He tried 



121 



this again and again, and failed every time, Then 
he studied, and the Lord gave him a sermon. Re- 
ligion and edncation go together. 

He asked that the matter be fairly discussed, and 
it was, most of those who spoke speaking in favor of 
it. Isaac Kretzinger thought that in four years we 
wonld give it the name which really belonged to it, a 
theological department, and he proved to be a good 
prophet. To prevent a step of that kind, Bishop Ed- 
wards advised that the word "classes 77 be substituted 
for "departments, 77 which was done, and Bishop 
Weavers amendment then prevailed. The result was, 
in due time, a theological seminary. 

Take it all in all, this was an interesting Confer- 
ence, I: ~as just after the war, during which the 
Church in many places had been in trouble. It was 
time to plan for new work. A resolution of confi- 
dence in Bishop Glossbrenner, who had been in the 
South, was passed. Early in the session, information 
came that Jelierson Davis was captured, and Bishop 
Edwards, by permission of the chair, made the an- 
nouncement. There was great cheering, and Bishop 
Markwood was pressed to make a speech, but de- 
clined. Instead, the doxology was sung. A plan was 
set on foot to raise a fund of forty thousand dollars 
to meet the Publishing House debt. The Missionary 
Visitor was started, to give information concerning 
missions. After no little discussion, a form of con- 
stitution for Sabbath schools was adopted, and made 
general, the first in the history of the Church. 

Bishop Weaver had written a great deal for the 



122 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Church paper, partly in the interests of Otterbein 
University, and, besides this, articles on miscellaneous 
subjects. He had quite a fondness for it, which lasted 
till the day of his death. Up to within a very little 
time of his passing away, he had a pad of paper and 
a pencil on his bed to jot down a thought as it came 
to him. He used the plain, simple words familiar 
to the common people. There was no attempt at in- 
volved rhetoric or a stilted style. He wrote to be 
understood, and the most common mind knew what 
he meant In many of his articles there was a vein 
of humor running which made them readable to the 
common people. He could say severe things, but in 
such a good-humored way that men read them with- 
out becoming angry. His manner of putting things 
was very appropriate for the years through which 
the Church had just passed. John Lawrence, who 
had been a successful editor for years, had resigned 
and gone to the army, and D. Berger had been chosen 
by the executive committee to nil out the interim. 
ISTow a new man must be chosen. Many friends of 
Bishop Weaver wanted him for this place. The bal- 
lot for an editor was first taken, and resulted in forty- 
five votes for Berger, forty for Weaver, and two for 
McKee. Berger was therefore elected. A little later, 
when the ballot for bishops was taken, he received 
forty-nine votes, which were more than enough to 
elect. 

At a later date in his life, his name was again sug- 
gested for editor by some ardent friends, and to their 
earnest appeals he replied: "This matter has been 



Becomes a Bishop 



123 



urged upon me by a number of other friends, but I 
have felt all the time that while I love to write, and 
perhaps have more strength along that line than any 
other, (not much on any line,) yet I cannot drive from 
my mind the conviction that I lack the necessary 
ability to fill that place as it ought to be filled at this 
time. My early advantages were but poor, and what 
little progress I have made was through solid rock. It 
seems to me that I am too old to undertake a new 
work. There are certainly many things I should have 
to learn that I do not now understand. This much 
I will say: if a majority of my brethren think that I 
can do more for the Church in the capacity of an edi- 
tor than in any other, I shall not refuse to undertake 
it." His own convictions were respected, and he was 
left to do the work for which experience had shown 
him to be fitted. 

Had he been elected editor, it is probable his life 
would have been thereby materially changed, as well 
as his influence in the Church. Looking back from 
our own standpoint, after his labors are all over, we 
think the Church did a wise thing in making him 
bishop. After his first election, he was reelected at 
each succeeding quadrennium as long as he lived. 
In the division of labor by the bishops, his lot was 
cast with what was called the East Mississippi Dis- 
trict, consisting of White Kiver, Upper Wabash, In- 
diana, Lower Wabash, Illinois, Illinois Central, St. 
Joseph, and 2s"orth Michigan conferences. 

The first conference held by him in his new rela- 
tion was the White River, which convened at Blue 



124 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



River Church, Shelby County. Indiana. August 17, 
1865. During the conference, in addition to his regu- 
lar duties, he delivered an educational address in the 
interests of Hartsville University, and received, in 
money and pledges, $262.35. A vote of thanks vra3 
tendered him "for the very efficient and Christianlike 
manner in which he has presided over the delibera- 
tions of the conference.'" 

Upper Wabash Conference was held at Perrysville, 
Vermilion County, Indiana, beginning August 24, 
1868. This was an interesting and vigorous session. 
Some radical and aggressive resolutions were passed, 
The conference pledged a "hearty cooperation in 
building up Westfield College" ; urged that Sabbath 
schools within its bounds be kept open all the year, 
whenever possible, and that our Church literature 
be everywhere taken ; ministers be urged to preach on 
temperance; they were more than ever to rebuke pro- 
fane and immoral language ; they were to discourage 
the wearing of fine clothes, "for many poor people 
who are not able to keep up with their better-favored 
neighbors feel themselves embarrassed and become 
discouraged in attending church ; many children are 
kept from Sabbath school mainly because their par- 
ents are not able to dress them as well as their neigh- 
bors' children are dressed ; therefore, we recommend 
that our brethren and sisters dress plainly for the 
sake of the poor ; moreover, it is wrong to spend the 
Lord's money in extravagant dressing; Christians 
are responsible for the manner in which they use their 
money, for their money is the Lord's, and they should 



Becomes a Bishop 



125 



rise it as the Lord's stewards. " They rejoice that 
most ministers have laid aside the "filthy practice 
of using tobacco ; but still there are some, and, to our 
Borrow, we have no hope that they ever will reform ; 
but there is hope that the day is coming when the use 
of tobacco by ministers of the gospel will be as un- 
popular as the use of ardent spirits/*' The tobacco- 
using minister must have listened with breathless in- 
terest while this was being discussed. The conference 
also urges the brethren in the ministry who have laid 
aside the razor to use moderation in wearing the 
moustache. "It is very unbecoming at the Lord's 
table for persons to soak or dip their moustaches in 
the Lord's cup." They resolved against slavery and 
in support of the Government: they have no sym- 
pathy with avowed traitors ; they do sympathize with 
those who have lost friends in the war, and they ex- 
tend the hand of welcome to returning soldiers ; they 
assume their share of the Publishing House debt, and 
pledge themselves to help increase the circulation of 
our literature. 

The Lower Wabash Conference met at Parkers- 
burg, Richland County, Illinois, September 7, 1565. 
Westfield College vras located in its bounds, and it 
pledged loyalty to this institution, placing TV. C. 
Smith and J. F. Moore in the field as agents. The 
members agree to a more vigorous activity in behalf 
of Sabbath-school work, believing this to be the hope- 
ful field of the Church, and will use our own litera- 
ture in all their schools. They give one of their men 
as agent for the American Sabbath-School Union. 



126 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

They put themselves on record as against all pro- 
fanity, Sabbath-breaking, the use of tobacco, and 
gaudy and costly clothing. They rejoice that the 
nation has been saved ; they pray that just retribution 
may overtake traitors; they sympathize with those 
who have lost loved ones in the army; they believe 
all, without exception of color, should be put on an 
equality before the law; they require preachers to 
read the Discipline once a quarter ; they will be more 
active in pushing missionary interests, and they will 
assume their division of the Publishing House debt. 

Illinois Conference convened at Astoria, Fulton 
County, Illinois, September 21, 1865. They were still 
embarrassed over the indebtedness of Blandenville 
Seminary, and, for this reason, were not yet ready to 
cooperate with Westfield College, but would do all 
they could to send thither their young people who 
want an education. They pledge themselves to keep 
agitating against the sinfulness of chewing and smok- 
ing tobacco; will preach on intemperance as well as 
against Sabbath-breaking, and publicly and privately 
will exhort their members to set better examples ; they 
will patronize the Bible cause, and close with thank- 
ing the bishop for presiding over them with great 
ability. 

Central Illinois Conference met at Decatur, Illi- 
nois, September 28, 1865. While here, Bishop 
Weaver wrote a brief article for the Telescope, en- 
titled "Taste," denning the various kinds and show- 
ing how it may be educated, and ends with a personal 
application to himself, which many others, no doubt, 



Becomes a Bishop 



127 



could appreciate: "There are some things against 
which I have a positive distaste* My whole nature 
repulses them because they produce neither pleasure 
nor comfort. I refer to ague, chills, fever, and qui- 
nine. To be cold in a hot day, and tremble and shake 
without any visible human agency is intolerable, and, 
what is more distasteful, if possible, is that the little 
matter of quitting to shake is not left to one's own 
notion. You may brace yourself as you please ; it will 
soon limber you up. But when it does stop, it is fol- 
lowed by fever — hot as fire. Now, hurrah for a good 
time ! Carried from forty degrees below zero to boil- 
ing heat in about fifty minutes. Last, but not least, 
comes the quinine. How indescribably mean it 
tastes. It must be the quintessence of that bitterness 
of which the Bible gives an account. I repeat, this is 
not my style. Those who can educate themselves to 
it, and enjoy it, can have all the comfort there is in 
it. I shall prefer to be let alone. It seems to me 
if the Shaking Quakers would send missionaries 
through this country, they might be favored with 
large accessions to their church." 

St. Joseph Conference assembled at Galveston, 
Cass County, Indiana, October 5, 1865. Its members 
pledge their support to Bourbon Seminary and to 
Sabbath-school work, and to the raising of missionary 
funds ; they rejoice over the downfall of slavery ; com- 
mend the publications of the Church, and assume 
their proportion of the indebtedness; they resolve 
against profanity, intemperance, Sabbath-breaking, 
the use of tobacco, and return thanks to the bishop 



128 Biography of Jonathan Weave? 

for the "able and kind manner in which he has pre- 
sided over us." 

North Michigan Conference met in Woodland, 
Barry County, Michigan, October 15, 1865. The 
members assumed their portion of the Publishing 
House debt; urged the sending forth of more mis- 
sionaries ; preachers were asked to give more time to 
Sabbath-school work. The committee on moral re- 
form mentioned the sins of profanity, secrecy, intem- 
perance, lying, wearing of jewelry, use of tobacco in 
any form, tattling, and sitting in time of prayer, as 
wicked and demoralizing, vile and debasing, unbe- 
coming and wasteful, filthy and disgusting, mean and 
contemptible, disgraceful and irreverent, none of 
which should be tolerated, and the conference so 
voted. God's hand was acknowledged in the over- 
throw of slavery ; thanks were voted to the soldiers ; 
sympathy expressed with those who were bereaved; 
confidence expressed in the school at Leoni ; ministers 
urged to study geography and English grammar; 
thanks voted the bishop for his manner of presiding. 

At the close of his five conferences, Bishop Weaver 
visited various fields, aiding as best he could 
in tho prosecution of the work. We find him, De- 
cember 15, at Vermilion, Illinois, aiding Rev. Mr. 
ISTewgent. From the 25th to the 26th, he is at West- 
field, Illinois, aiding in a meeting there. He speaks 
encouragingly of the college there. It is young, but 
full of life. Professor Jackson is in charge, and 
about ninety students are in attendance. An addi- 
tional building is needed, and he calls on the cooperat- 



Becomes a Bishop 



129 



ing conferences to come to the help of the college. 
Commends Agents Smith and Moore as safe men and 
good financiers. 

In his annual report, made February 7, 1866, the 
increase of members was 2,728. He urges that they 
seek to double this number during the coming year. 
To do this, "seek for entire consecration to God and 
his service. Without this, every other qualification, 
however needful in its place, cannot fit us for the 
work. It is God's cause, and our success depends 
upon him. If he does not go before us, how shall we 
lead the flock of God? I trust you will also look 
after the various interests of the Church. Do not 
put off until the end of the year what ought to be at- 
tended to now. Jesus said, ( I must work the works 
of him that sent me while it is day.' Yes, Jesus 
worked, and so must we. There is rest, but not here. 
Accept my thanks for the brotherly kindness extended 
to me during my visit among you." 

With meager salaries there is always a temptation 
to the ordinary minister to divide up his time and 
energies and give a portion of it to the ministry. 
Bishop Weaver never grew weary in urging men to 
give themselves wholly to their work. In a com- 
munication written about this time, he argues thus: 
"When a man has a purpose fully settled and fixed 
in his heart, and throws all his energies and powers 
into it, we cannot tell how much he may accomplish. 
It was this that gave Luther and his coadjutors their 
power. If the ministers and the Church were this 
day wholly consecrated to God, it would not be long 



130 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



until the whole world would be evangelized. Then 
would the ministers and churches be coworkers with 
God. Hills and mountains would be leveled, deserts 
would be made fertile plains, and the wilderness 
would blossom as the rose. The wandering Arab 
would sit and sing at the Messiah's feet, and the fol- 
lowers of Confucius would take up their crosses and 
follow Christ 

"Converted men and women cannot be conquered. 
They may be crushed, but cannot be conquered so 
long as they hold their consecration sacred. Paul was 
beheaded, John was banished, Peter was crucified, the- 
martyrs were burned, but they were not conquered. 
So with Christians now. If they are wholly devoted 
to God and his service, they cannot be conquered. 
They will make everything bend to God and his cause. 

"We are but the husks of men. We are not conse- 
crated. We are divided in our interests. Our power 
for good is broken. Many seem to hang on to the 
ministry, not because their souls are wholly devoted 
to it, but it suits their convenience and taste better 
than some other calling. Men and women hang on 
to the church, not because they desire its prosperity 
above everything else, but they would rather be in 
than out." 

With the close of his conferences, there was more 
time for his pen, and it did not lie idle. The war 
having closed, and slavery having been decided il- 
legal, there was now some veering about and chang- 
ing of relations. The United Brethren Church hav- 
ing been antislavery from its beginning, did not need 



Becomes a Bishop 



131 



to change; others that had been silent on this mon- 
ster evil, even if not, indeed, in sympathy with it, 
had to spread their sails anew. This led to an ar- 
ticle, entitled "Public Sentiment," in which he sought 
to show the straightforward policy of the Church. 
Many men are controlled by public sentiment, and 
so are churches. Slavery is no greater sin than be- 
fore, but churches now oppose it which were silent 
before. These sort of men and churches sustain about 
the same relation to moral reform that the weather- 
cock does to the wind. The United Brethren Church 
has never depended for her position upon public sen- 
timent. I remember when her ministers were per- 
secuted almost to death because they dared to stand 
up and plead the cause of the poor slave. I remem- 
ber when her Church periodicals were burned in the 
street because they advocated the sentiment of uni- 
versal freedom. If she had followed public senti- 
ment, her nominal strength would be three times as 
great as it is. A thousand times she has been re- 
quested to expunge the law relating to slavery, and 
a thousand times she has responded, "No. So far as 
I know, the United Brethren Church was the first 
to give an official decision on the question of equal 
rights before the law. She did not want to see 
whether the wind would blow hot or cold. The ques- 
tion was, Is it right % Since that time, so far as I 
know, the annual conferences have endorsed the ac- 
tion of the General Conferences. 

"Men who have done most for the world, and whose 
influence is most felt after they were dead, were not 



132 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



men controlled by public sentiment. They were per- 
secuted and denounced when living, and worshiped 
when they were gone. We need men and churches 
that will take right as their basis, and then act upon 
it whatever may be the popular opinion." 

During the close of 1865 and the early part of 
1866, the subject of instrumental music in the 
Church had quite an airing. The previous General 
Conference had advised against it. Bishops Mark- 
wood and Edwards endorsed the action of the Con- 
ference and opposed the use of instruments. Dr. 
S. B. Allen and others found nothing in the Bible to 
condemn their use. Bishop Weaver claims that, as 
they are all good men, how can he arrive at any sat- 
isfactory conclusions from their opinions ? He thinks 
the use of such music cannot be determined by the 
opinion of men, nor by the influence it exerts over 
Christian churches. It must be settled by the Word 
of God. So he proceeds to pen his views. After 
some preliminary explanations, he says: "My con- 
clusion is, that whatever was believed and practiced 
in the church prior to the coming of Christ, and not 
forbidden by him or his apostles, may be used now. 
Instrumental music was used in the church of God 
under the divine appointment as a medium of praise, 
and was not forbidden either by Christ or his apos- 
tles, and therefore it is right to use the same medium 
of praise in the church of Christ now. 

"When the people wandered away from God, and 
when they went into captivity, they never used their 
instruments; but when they returned to their for- 



Becomes a Bishop 



133 



saken altars and God's approbation rested upon them, 
they would bring forward their instruments and sing 
praises to God, and play skillfully upon the harp. It 
was not the ensign of Baal nor an engine of formal- 
ism, but a sign of prosperity in the church of God. 
Where, then, lies the formidable objection to the use 
of an organ in the church now ? It is not condemned 
in the Word of God, neither positively nor impliedly. 

"I have not formed my convictions hastily. I have 
considered the whole question as far as I was capable. 
I have seen its workings, and conclude that, since 
it is not forbidden in the Word of God, and does not 
necessarily produce formality in the church, it may 
be used in the public congregation, not only without 
any disadvantage, but beneficially. If any one can 
give a better reason drawn from the Word of God, I 
must yield to him. 

"When Christ came into this world, he found many 
grievous errors in the church, which he rebuked and 
denounced in unmistakable terms. Now, if the in- 
struments in the temple where God had commanded 
them to be used (II. Chr. 29 : 25-34) were the en- 
signs of Baal, and so much in opposition to the true 
worship of God, it is certainly very strange that 
Christ would have passed it by in complete silence. 
With these facts before us, it would hardly be safe 
to lean one's whole weight upon mere human opinion. 
I insist upon it that the Word of God be the stand- 
ard." 

Later, when some fear prevailed lest the regulation 
of Conference and the opinions of the other bishops 



134 Biography of Jonathan, Weaver 



might not be obeyed, he returns to the subject, and 
shows his usual confidence and faith in the people: 
"The question of human depravity was never fairly 
settled until it was thoroughly investigated; then 
it was settled, and the subject was quiet. I anticipate 
no difficulty in this Church from the mere investiga- 
tion of any subject. I think we are too well estab- 
lished to be so easily shaken to pieces. Similar in- 
vestigations have been carried on in other churches, 
and closed up quietly and pleasantly, as I presume 
this will, no one hurt, and the people satisfied. If 
there are innovations in music or in any other direc- 
tions, we have laws and rules fully equal to meet the 
case, and they should be applied in one case as well as 
in another. There is but one case in the Church, so 
far as I know, [this was probably at Westerville,] 
where an organ is used in the congregation, and that 
was introduced before we had any law on the question 
at all. I presume, too, that before this article is read 
that will be discontinued, (by order of board of trus- 
tees,) so that we shall stand without an innovation 
in the Church on that question, which cannot be said 
in relation to some other questions of equal impor- 
tance." 

In 1862, Bishop Weaver had published a fifty- 
page pamphlet, entitled "A Lecture on Secret Socie- 
ties." The General Conference of 1865 endorsed 
this pamphlet, and commended it to the people. Lit- 
tle did he know how, in after years, this written rec- 
ord would be used to annoy him. Perhaps he would 
not have cared had he known then. An honest man 



Becomes a Bishop 



135 



will live up to the light which he has at the particular 
moment. He will keep his eyes and ears open to get 
all the truth that may come to him. !No man sees 
all sides of a truth at any one time. When the in- 
creased light comes, he must change his convictions 
to meet it. It is no credit to a man to say that he 
holds himself to the same views of truth that he had 
thirty years ago. So it was nothing to Bishop Weav- 
er's discredit in later life to say that, while he had 
not changed his views as to the wrongfulness of 
secret societies, meaning thereby, in the main, free- 
masonry and the Order of Odd Fellows, he had 
changed his views as to the best manner in which the 
Church should deal with them. 

His aim in this pamphlet was, in part, to answer 
the question, "Why does the Church of the United 
Brethren in Christ oppose secret societies V 9 He in- 
troduces the matter by saying: "Freemasonry and 
Odd Fellowship are either right or wrong. There 
is no middle ground. If they be right, then they 
must be made to harmonize with the gospel of Christ. 
Mark this closely. We cannot determine as to the 
right or wrong of anything by our own simple no- 
tions. We must come to the gospel of Jesus, and 
whatever does not find a divine sanction there is nec- 
essarily wrong. Jesus says, 'He that is not with me 
is against me.' Anything and everything that is in- 
compatible with the doctrine and spirit of Jesus is 
sinful. The Bible must be the standard of proof and 
appeal, and whatever I may say that is contrary to 
the teaching of that book I hope you will reject. I 



136 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



will now enter upon a course of argument, setting 
forth, in as clear a light as possible, some of our 
objections to secret organizations : 

"{!) We object to them because they render them- 
selves justly liable to the suspicion of the good and 
virtuous. (2) Because there is in the pledge given 
an abuse of the ordinance of an oath. (3) Because- 
connection with them violates the rights of con- 
science. (4) Because their religion, in the main, i& 
a Christless religion. (5) We object to them because 
of the assumption by their members of high-sounding 
names, (6) We object because they falsify their own 
pretensions. (7) We object to these societies because 
they form an alliance positively forbidden in God's 
Word. (8) We object to these societies because their 
claims are preferred before the claims of the Bible 
and the church." After having sought to sustain 
these few objections by quotations from their own 
public statements, from history, from observation 
and experience, he closes the address by asking and 
briefly answering the questions: "Will the Church 
maintain her position ?" "Had she not better take 
down her banner V } "Can she hold out ?" "Will not 
secret societies ultimately swallow her up ?" 

~Eo honest man can read the pamphlet to-day, forty 
years after it was published, without coming to the 
conclusion that it was a thoughtful, honest, sincere 
presentation of what was, to the author, a vital ques- 
tion, and without a recognition of the author's candor 
and high mental ability. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Becomes a Bishop — Continued. 

In the fall of 1867, Bishop Weaver writes to the 
ministers of the East Mississippi District, compris- 
ing the following conferences : White River, Indiana, 
Lower Wabash, Upper Wabash, Illinois, Central Illi- 
nois, St. Joseph, and North Michigan, the following 
letter: "During your late conference gatherings, I 
asked leave of absence, that I might be freed from 
attendance upon them, and this request you kindly 
granted. Otterbein University is the oldest school 
of the Church, and needs help now, and must have it. 
The friends of the college insisted upon my helping 
them in this struggle. They perhaps have more con- 
fidence in me than I have in myself. If God will 
help me, I shall succeed. I think it is just to you to 
say that you released me because you are friends to 
the cause of education, and desire to see it succeed 
elsewhere as well as in your own conferences. This 
is as it ought to be, and you have shown a magna- 
nimity that is worthy of imitation. And now, while 
for a few months I turn aside to labor for this col- 
lege, I shall hope to hear from you, and especially 
in our revival columns. . . . The Church can- 
not do without colleges. We must educate for Christ 
and his cause." 

137 



138 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



The authorities of Otterbein University had taken 
steps to raise $60,000 to endow six professorships. 
The cooperative conferences had been divided into 
six districts, and each district was asked to endow 
a chair. Bishop Weaver was still residing at Wester- 
ville; was a member of its executive committee and 
board of trustees; had, for eight years, been its 
agent in some form or other. Dr. L. Davis had been 
soliciting for some time for the endowment, and de- 
sired to have some help. He asked that Bishop 
Weaver might be appointed, and it was so voted. He 
was voted a salary of twelve hundred dollars, and 
what the conferences did not pay the college would 
assume. He was asked to commence soon after the 
close of his fall conferences. 

He began his work in Sandusky Conference. Con- 
cerning it, he makes this published statement: "To 
say that I like the business is not correct. Eight 
years of experience in this work has taught me that 
it is a hard business. But then it must be done, and, 
rather than lose our oldest school, I am willing to 
unite with others and help to bear the burden. We 
must do something to save our young people to the 
Church. If the ministers will take hold in earnest, 
and help us, the work will soon be done. What is the 
use of men passing resolutions in conference to do 
all they can, and then do nothing at all, either in 
word or deed? The sun will rise and set, and the 
world wag on after they are out of the way. 

"Why not make the Sandusky Conference the ban- 
ner conference in the good work of endowing Otter- 



becomes a Ifis/iop, Continued 



139 



bein University ? I understand that President Davis 
proposes to make Scioto Conference the banner con- 
ference. He sustains some sort of relation to that 
conference, perhaps he considers himself a full mem- 
ber ; at least, I think he has passed the course of read- 
ing. It would be much like him to want to be identi- 
fied with the banner conference. But Sandusky has 
the numbers and the wealth to be the banner confer- 
ence, and if its ministers will unite heartily with 
Brother Barlow and myself, it can be done." 

The work was being done in the fall and early 
winter. It, perhaps, did not go as enthusiastically 
as it might have gone, so he writes : "This, in many 
respects, is a cold and cheerless world, and at this 
time it is literally so ; but there is no use in complain- 
ing ; that will make it no better. We must take the 
world as it is and not as it ought to be. That man 
has the true idea of life who takes hold and labors to 
make the world better. There is a demand now for 
bold and earnest-hearted men — men of God, men of 
large views. The conflict is upon us, not the conflict 
of ages, but of this age, and we must stand for the 
right. Sink or swim, live or die, we must stand for 
the right, though the heavens fall. God is on the side 
of right, and it must, and will prevail. We musf; 
meet the foe manfully, courageously, and God will 
help all that are in the right." 

He gives a general summing up for the East Mis- 
sissippi District for the year 1867, saying, "The year, 
in many respects, has been very pleasant, made so 
by the presence of God." The year had been at- 



140 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



tended with considerable prosperity. In nearly every 
department there had been an encouraging increase. 
The membership had increased about four thousand 
above all losses. The money received on the district 
had exceeded that of the previous year by $20,000. 
During the year, thirty-one new churches had been 
completed. Sunday schools had increased about one 
hundred in number, and six thousand pupils added. 
The conference sessions, with one or two exceptions, 
had been pleasant. 

Concerning the missionary outlook, he says: "It 
is not what it ought to be. The money raised ex- 
ceeded that of last year by $1,488. It might have 
been increased four times that amount. The more 
we do for the spread of the gospel, the more our 
Father in heaven will do for us. There are some 
ministers who should improve or quit the field. Year 
after year their reports are imperfect. How a min- 
ister with the love of God in his soul can afford to 
neglect a work of such vast importance as the mis- 
sionary work, I cannot tell." 

He names four institutions of education in this dis- 
trict, and the fact that several thousand dollars 'had 
been collected during the year for their benefit. 
"These schools are doing a good work for the Church, 
and every minister and member in the several cooper- 
ating conferences." He writes again : "I have just 
finished reading a number of the Telescope, and, 
whether it is in me or in the paper or in both, I can- 
not tell, but one thing is certain, it seems to me to 
be one of the best numbers. Just look at the long 



Becomes a Bishop, Continued 



141 



list of revival notices. Scores of immortal souls have 
been born to Christ within a few weeks. This is 
good news, like cold water to a thirsty soul, an oasis 
in the desert. This is the hope of the Church. We 
must increase by adding to our number converted 
men and women. We might increase more rapidly, 
numerically, if we would open the doors a little wider 
and take in numbers without regard to the internal 
work of grace, but this would weaken rather than 
strengthen our ranks. We must insist upon regenera- 
tion, the new birth, and holiness of heart. Look, too, 
at the number of churches being dedicated. God is 
with us, and will remain with us if we continue to 
be humble. We must stick to the old paths, the old- 
fashioned religion, the fullness of the gospel of Jesus. 
This will stand when we shall have heard the wail 
of expiring time." 

He then proceeds to show how cheap the Telescope 
is; that it is getting better and better. He is sur- 
prised that there are some preachers of the Church 
who do not take it. "Woe to the circuit that has 
such a preacher! We cannot tell much about his 
church ; and then it seems it would be awkward busi- 
ness for him to solicit subscribers. We should be 
liberal, of course, but if we do not sustain our own 
paper, who will do it for us ?" 

On March 1, 1868, he left home (probably Roa- 
noke, Indiana) and started for the Missouri and Kan- 
sas conferences. He left under some depression of 
spirits, owing to afflictions in his family. He says: 
"If all is well, I can leave home cheerfully and go 



142 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



anywhere that duty calls me. Perhaps if I had more 
faith and could trust more implicitly in God, it would 
be less difficult to leave under any circumstances. I 
remember that David said, 'They that trust in the 
Lord shall be as mount Zion which cannot be re- 
moved.' " 

He had prepared himself for a rough time getting 
there, but did not so find it. The place for holding 
the conference was some forty miles from the near- 
est railroad, and the roads across the prairie at that 
time unusually bad. He had prepared his mind for 
wading deep mud and crossing miserable sloughs, but 
was very happily disappointed. Unexpectedly to 
himself, the roads were fine, the weather was cool, and 
most of the ministers on hand. The session was a 
pleasant one. Because of their small salaries, the 
year had been a very trying one to some of them, yet, 
with all their sacrifices, they were cheerful and 
happy. They had a good degree of prosperity during 
the year. A number of very promising men were re- 
ceived into the conference. 

During the session of the conference, he was called 
upon by a prominent minister of another church, who 
said he would like to unite with the United Brethren 
Church, but he could not on account of our rule on 
secrecy. "He said that if that were out of the way, 
we could, and would increase tenfold more rapidly, 
and he asked whether I thought it would be taken 
out of the way. I told him I did not pretend to 
know much about the future history of the Church, 
but, judging from her past history, it did not seem 



Becomes a Bishop, Continued 



143 



very probable that the rule would be rescinded. If 
he wished to labor with us, he had better break off 
from those orders at once, for I did not think he 
would live long enough to see the rule materially 
changed. Moreover, we had often been reminded that 
if we would change our tactics we would grow very 
rapidly, but I was not sure of that. The real growth 
of a church was not always to be tested by the in- 
crease of her numbers. The prophet Isaiah speaks of 
increasing the number but not the strength. Again, 
it seemed to me that the world had need of just such 
a church as ours. There were plenty of churches that 
would take in members of secret societies. If we 
should give it up, God would have to raise up another 
church, because there were thousands of good men 
and women who would not unite with a church that 
would receive members of secret societies into its 
communion ; and as we had started out on that plat- 
form, and had met with reasonable success, I thought 
we would fight it out on that line. One thing I knew 
beyond peradventure, which gave me consolation, and 
that was that God was with us, and had been with us 
all the time ; and if we could not take the world, we 
were determined, by the help of God, that the world 
should not take us." 

From Missouri, he went to Kansas Conference, in 
company with Professor Shuck, of Lane University, 
whom he characterized as a most agreeable traveling 
companion. "He is a practical nonresistant, except 
when he attacks sin, and then he is for war to the 
hilt. In the pulpit he is plain, earnest, and elo- 



144 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



quent." They reached the place of meeting in due 
time. The session was a very pleasant one, not a jar, 
nor an unkind feeling was manifested at any time 
during the session. "The ministers are devoted to 
the great work of winning souls to Christ. Intellec- 
tually, they will compare favorably with those of any 
conference in the Church." 

This was a pleasant conference, and he came away 
much encouraged with the hopeful outlook. There 
seemed to him, at that time, a bright future for our 
Church in Kansas. "The country is fine, climate, 
soil, etc., not surpassed anywhere. The Church has 
an excellent start, with a college in her midst, and 
an earnest, intellectual ministry. There is nothing 
to prevent her from growing very rapidly. Add to 
this the fact that a constant tide of immigration is 
flowing into this State, and among the immigrants 
there is a fair proportion of well-tried members of 
the Church from the eastern States. All these things 
unite in saying there is a bright future for the Church 
in Kansas. Although the early history of this State 
was written in blood, those days are ever past; and 
now the sun shines brightly and the birds sing sweetly 
over a pure and enterprising people." 

At this session of the Kansas Conference, the fol- 
lowing resolution was passed: "Resolved, That in 
the person of Bishop Weaver we have found that com- 
bination of suavity, mildness, and firmness that con- 
stitutes the efficient superintendent ; and for the cour- 
teous manner in which he has presided during this 
session of conference we hereby express our hearty 



Becomes a Bishop, Continued 145 



appreciation, and for his visit and services, and our 
ardent desires that he may some time in the future 
seek a home in our midst." 

A national temperance convention was arranged 
for Cleveland, Ohio, to begin July 29, 1868. All 
synods, conferences, etc., were entitled to send dele- 
gates. In case the organization could not meet and 
appoint, the presiding officer was to do this. Bishop 
Weaver appointed seven delegates from each of the 
conferences in his district, namely, White River, In- 
diana, Lower Wabash, Upper Wabash, Central Illi- 
nois, Illinois, St Joseph, and North Michigan. If 
any could not go, the others were to fill vacancies. 
Having done this, he then said to them : "Brethren, 
we ought to go. We are a temperance church; our 
record has been a noble one for many years. Al- 
though we have not given our assent to the manner 
in which certain organizations have undertaken to 
manage this great reform, yet we are for temperance, 
first, last, and forever. Let us go. This is our chosen 
method of attack, and the history of the past demon- 
strates that it is the only way for carrying on a re- 
form successfully. When it is settled who will go, 
let the chairman of each delegation inform me, and 
I will send him the required credentials." 

The Board of Missions met in Westfield, Illinois, 
May 21, 1868. A part of the time Bishop Weaver 
presided, and at other times took part in its proceed- 
ings. Near the close of the meeting, a resolution was 
introduced pledging them to give the world a "pure 
gospel unadulterated by secret societies." Each mem- 

10 



146 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



ber of the Board was asked to make a statements 
Weaver said he had no sympathy with secret socie- 
ties. He could not be a member of an order and be 
a Christian. He would not, for any consideration, 
if it were left to him, wipe that law from our book 
of Discipline. He had said to persons who had in- 
quired of him whether our law would be expunged, 
that they would not live long enough to see the day. 
He felt that we should now be encouraged to retain 
our position, for others were coming to our help. We 
had once fought this battle almost alone, as we had 
once stood almost alone among the churches in op- 
posing slavery. Circumstances were now changing;, 
a strong current was setting in the direction of our 
position. Many friends are now rallying to our aid. 

It had been asserted again and again that a num- 
ber of our ministers and members were connected 
with secret societies. The bishop did not attempt to 
show whether it was true or not true, but gave his 
opinion as to the conduct of men who belonged to an 
antisecrecy church, and yet, in violation of their 
vows, would join a secret organization. "If it be 
said that there is nothing wrong in these orders, that 
by no means justifies a man in violating the law of 
his church, and deceiving his brethren. There is an- 
other and a better way for members of this Church. 
If a man feels that it is his duty for Christ's sake- 
to unite with a secret order, let him, like an honor- 
able Christian gentleman, leave the Church, and then 
go. To join a secret society in this clandestine man- 
ner is anything but honorable. If he leaves the 



Becomes a Bishop, Continued 



147 



Church first, he will be more respected by those he 
left behind ; and if there is a single particle of honor 
among the members of the order he joins, they will 
think so, too. I know of no organizations or associa- 
tions of men, whether political or ecclesiastical, that 
tolerates deception, except secret societies. The 
Bible, morality, and everything pure and honorable 
is in eternal opposition to the spirit of deception, and 
just such deception as that man is guilty of who will, 
in a clandestine manner, join a secret order contrary 
to the law of the Church. If I believed that these 
orders were as pure as the angels of light, (but I do 
not,) I could not be induced to join them until after 
I had left the Church" (Telescope, June 17, 1868). 

A committee had been appointed to secure a par- 
sonage for the bishop of the East Mississippi Dis- 
trict. The members who could do so met in West- 
field, Illinois, May 22, 1868, and J. Weaver was 
made chairman. It was voted that a neat and com- 
modious house should be built, the whole to cost not 
less than $3,000, nor more than $4,000. Proposi- 
tions had come from Hartsville, Indiana, Westfield, 
Illinois, and Lexington, Illinois. These were all con- 
sidered, and it was finally agreed to locate at Lexing- 
ton, Illinois, the people of that section having agreed 
to raise $3,000 themselves, so there would be only 
$1,000 to raise in the conferences. J. Weaver and 
H. Hilbish were made a committee to secure the bal- 
ance of the money needed. 

Bishop Weaver always traveled with his eyes open 
to see what was interesting about him, and then he 



148 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

had a peculiar skill in describing what he saw. He 
takes his readers into such familiar relationship with 
himself that they can almost see with his eves. He 
went out to dedicate a church in Council Bluffs, Iowa, 
June 28, 1868. There was a very small society 
there, numbering about twelve members, but they 
were earnest, working Christians. By hard work 
they had succeeded in building a house at a cost of 
about $1,400, one-half of which was yet to be pro- 
vided ; this the bishop secured, but not without great 
effort. 

Even then he saw what we are enjoying to-day. 
He writes: "What a pity it is that we have no 
church extension fund. There is nothing so much 
in the way of our success in the West as the want 
of meeting-houses. Our members are scattered all 
over this new country in small groups. Many of 
them are poor, just commencing, and are not able to 
build houses. The consequence is, that many of them 
unite with other churches. We will never be able 
to hold our position in any country unless we devise 
ways and means to build houses of worship. Some 
of our own more wealthy members in the Eastern and 
Middle States ought to start the ball rolling." 

He sends an apologetic note to the editor (Dr. 
Berger) for his attempting to write anything more 
about the West, for the subject is about exhausted. 
"But how can a man help it when the inspiration 
comes upon him ? Here I am, not far from the mid- 
dle of the State of Iowa. The day is beautiful, and 
we are jogging along click, click, click, at the rate 



Becomes a Bishop, Continued 



149 



of about twenty miles an hour. What magnificent 
scenery, what fields — cornfields — stretching along on 
either side ! There are the prairie and the prairie 
flowers. I tell you, Mr. Editor, if you were here you 
would want to forget that little room in the third 
story of that elegant building on the corner of Fourth 
and Main, or if you would think of it, it would bring 
a pang with it. I don't mean a bit of harm by this 
reference to your office, with your big basket chuck 
full of refused manuscript. I mean it is cooler here 
than there, and I wish you were here." 

In the midst of his description of scenery and road 
and courteous conductors and all, he exclaims : "How 
liable we all are to be mistaken ! The last penciling 
was at Lisbon, and how the stop there brought back 
the associations of three years ago! Now we have 
reached Marshall. From the length of time that has 
elapsed, I supposed we were getting well on to Coun- 
cil Bluffs, but, bless my life ! the figures in the depot 
tell me it is yet two hundred miles. My inspiration 
is pretty much gone, and I shall lay myself down in 
dust and dirt, and learn to be content. Lay me 
down? "No, I won't, for just now a tremendously 
large man comes in and claims a part of my seat. I 
wonder why he did not wait for the next train or 
charter a car especially for himself. It is really ter- 
rible to have such a large man in the seat with you 
when the weather is so hot. Then, from his appear- 
ance and language, I am pretty sure he has been 
drinking lager beer, and will be asleep in ten min- 
utes." 



150 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



As he reaches the place of his destination, he is 
pleased with the outlook: "Council Bluffs at last! 
This is rather a fine town, but you cannot see much 
of it from any one place. It is here and there and 
yonder. It has a population of about ten thousand. 
The city is back from the Missouri River about two 
and one-half miles. The houses, for the most part, 
are built at the base of the bluffs. Behind the bluffs 
and the river there is a beautiful plain, extending 
up and down the river for many miles. This, in con- 
trast with the steep bluffs, presents to the eye a most 
beautiful picture. Across the river, and in full view 
of this city, is the famous city of Omaha. On the 
plain between the cities the great depot of the Pacific- 
Railroad is to be built. All in all, there is a very 
flattering prospect for this city. The natural advan- 
tages are not to be surpassed anywhere. Soil, water, 
climate are all good ; the growing crops (except where 
the grasshoppers have destroyed) are very fine. If 
anybody would offer me a good-sized farm here and 
money to move to it and stock it, I would be under 
great obligations to him." 

At the National Temperance Convention, held in 
Cleveland, Ohio, in 1868, to which reference has been 
made elsewhere, about fifty delegates were present 
from the United Brethren Church. Permission was 
secured for J. Weaver to speak five minutes, in order 
to give the position of the United Brethren Church. 
He thanked them courteously for the opportunity, 
and then said : ir We are not well understood in this 
great temperance movement. We are a quiet people ; 



Becomes a Bishop, Continued 



151 



we are a temperance church. Fifty-two years ago, 
we were organized into a temperance society. The 
subject is called up at all of our annual conferences. 
We have a stringent law on the subject which I will 
read to you from our book of Discipline [he opened 
the book and read]. The reason we are not well un- 
derstood is that we are opposed to secret organiza- 
tions, and because of this, it is supposed we are op- 
posed to temperance, but this is not true ; we hold 
ourselves ready at all times to cooperate with the 
friends of temperance in an upward movement. We 
are opposed to secret temperance societies because we 
believe there is a better and more successful way of 
meeting and overcoming this giant monster. "We be- 
lieve in an open, earnest, persevering effort against 
the sin of intemperance, and, Mr. President, the cor- 
rectness of our position has been conceded more than 
twenty times during this convention." 



CHAPTER IX. 



Second Term as Bishop — 1869-1873. 

First Trip to the Coast. 

The fifteenth General Conference met at Leba- 
non, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1869. Thirty-eight an- 
nual conferences were entitled to representation. 
The questions that came up for settlement made this 
conference more exciting than any one that had pre- 
ceded it. Among these was the secrecy question, 
which later rent the Church. There was a large com- 
mittee appointed to make report on this subject, of 
which Dr. L. Davis was chairman. Two reports were 
submitted. The majority report defined a secret so- 
ciety and asserted that all such are evil in their tend- 
ency. Those of our people connected therewith 
must sever their connection. Six months' time was 
allowed in which to comply with the admonition 
given, and if the offending member refused to comply, 
his name should be erased. The minority report as- 
serted that such societies are objectionable, liable to 
be used for evil ends, unnecessary, and our people, 
both ministers and members, are advised "to abstain 
from all connection with them." This debate con- 
tinued during two days and a half, and showed that, 
while there was not much difference of opinion as 
to the nature of these organizations, there was a dif- 

152 




Rev. Jonathan Weaver.— About 1865. 



Second Term as Mishop 



153 



ference as to how they should be dealt with. There 
was a steadily-growing minority which believed that 
there was such a difference in these societies that the 
Church should not make a law excluding all. After 
a long and thorough and earnest discussion, the ma- 
jority report making the law prohibitive was passed 
by a vote of 72 yeas and 25 nays, with 14 members 
absent. Bishop Weaver voted with the majority. 

The question of lay representation in General Con- 
ference also came up, and was discussed. Bishop 
Weaver was then, and until his death, an advo- 
cate of this principle. On the ground, however, that 
there was, at this time, no general demand for it on 
the part of the laity, the proposition in its favor was 
defeated. Thirty-two were in favor and fifty-five to 
defer, Bishop Weaver voting with the majority. 

The work of Bishop Weaver, four years before, 
recommending the schools to establish biblical chairs, 
had borne fruit. Much of the opposition had 
dwindled, and some at this session openly advocated 
a theological school. A board of education was ap- 
pointed, and authorized to devise a plan for the 
founding of a biblical institute, and was enjoined 
to raise funds and locate said institution. This ac- 
tion resulted in the founding of Union Biblical Semi- 
nary at Dayton, Ohio, of which institution Bishop 
Weaver was, for many years a trustee, and always a 
devoted friend. 

It may not be out of place to note here as a matter 
of history, that when the time came to give the insti- 
tution a name, the managers hesitated to call it a 



154 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

theological seminary, which it really was to be, and 
which name would have been entirely appropriate, 
for to do so would arouse and intensify the prejudices 
of many of the older ministers. This must be 
avoided, as the institution is without funds, and will 
depend for some time on the sympathy and help of 
the people. They had found by experience that even 
these would approve of almost anything with the bib- 
lical affix to it. So this was agreed upon. It would 
be open to those of other churches who should apply, 
as well as those of our own, hence, in this sense, it 
would be union. This seemed a happy suggestion, 
so it was called "Union Biblical Seminary." The 
initials, "IT. B.," would answer just as well, if they 
so desired, for "United Brethren Seminary." 

Bishops Glossbrenner, Edwards, and Weaver were 
reelected- as bishops, Weaver receiving seventy-seven 
votes, the highest number cast for any one person, 
Glossbrenner seventy-four, and Edwards seventy-one. 
J. Dickson was elected in place of Bishop Markwood, 
whose health had failed, receiving forty-eight votes, 
just the number necessary to a choice. Bishop 
Weaver was later stationed on the East District, com- 
prising East Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, East Ger- 
man, Virginia, Allegheny, Parkersburg, Erie, West- 
ern Reserve, and Tennessee conferences. He was not 
altogether a stranger to the people here, for he had, 
years before, canvassed a number of these conferences 
in the interests of Otterbein University. 

At the close of the conference, each bishop made 
a few remarks, Bishop Weaver speaking as follows: 



Second Term as Bishop 



155 



"I cannot divorce from my own heart and mind the 
constant feeling that the position to which the Church 
has promoted me is far beyond and above my ability. 
If it is possible to feel and realize one defect more 
than another, I realize this, that my preparation of 
heart is not all that I feel it ought to be to fill such 
an important position in the Church. 

"In coming to labor in this part of the Church, 
and with these dear brethren, as best I can, to pro- 
mote the interests of the cause of Jesus, as a matter 
of course, I do it with feelings such, perhaps, as you 
could not realize. I will be associated with those 
whose experience is far beyond my own; who have 
been in this great and blessed work, perhaps, long 
before I was even a member of the Church. To sit 
with them, counsel with them, and pray with them, 
is pleasant; but that I should be intrusted with this 
additional responsibility to preside over them, I feel 
this and realize it, perhaps more than you could read 
on the outside. 

"As a matter of course, I feel a little degree of 
tenderness in being severed from those with whom I 
have labored so pleasantly and agreeably for the four 
years that have passed. I do not now call to remem- 
brance a single dark shadow upon my heart. I can- 
not now, in turning over the leaves of memory, find 
a single record against a single member of those con- 
ferences over which I presided. 

"I come to labor with the brethren of this district, 
as a matter of course, with the very kindest of feel- 
ings. I would ask of these brethren in advance to 



156 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



bear with all my weaknesses, and especially to pray 
for me. I think I am honest, I think I am sincere, 
and I think my heart does not deceive me when I 
say that my one purpose is, as best I can, to advance 
the interests of the cause of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
I pray that God, in his mercy and kindness, may give 
us most abundant success." 

There were four bishops' districts determined 
upon, and the bishops, in their turn, were to look 
after the conferences on the Coast. It fell to Bishop 
Weaver's lot to make the first visit during this quad- 
rennium. He held the Erie Conference at Little 
Cooley, Pennsylvania, August 19, 1869. He held the 
Muskingum Conference at Louisville, Ohio, August 
26. He started, September 16, on his episcopal jour- 
ney to the Coast. This was his first visit to our West- 
ern possessions, and, in some respects, was a hard 
trip for him. He was, however, in good health and 
vigor and able to endure. His eyes and ears were 
open to see what was presented to them. He had 
studied human nature, so he knew how to properly 
estimate its value when he came in touch with it. 
We have decided to give quite at length the inter- 
esting accounts of this trip which he wrote for the 
columns of the Telescope, and which its readers at 
the time perused with plea-sure. 

He left Roanoke for Fort Wayne, thence for Chi- 
cago, passing through Davenport, which he reached 
in the early morning. He says, "There were two 
or three persons on board that might have been spared 
without militating against the morality of the rest 



Second Term as Bishop 



157 



of the passengers." On the way he says : "I am a 
woman's rights man, but I cannot say that I like 
to see too much of it. We have on board this morn- 
ing, as we most always have, a few of the loud-talking 
kind. Mercy, how T they can talk ! They can be heard 
all over the car, and, I presume, could be heard above 
the noise of a good-sized thunder-storm. I most posi- 
tively object, not to the talking, but to the muchness 
of it." We w r onder if ever he had heard men talk 
on the train about election time. 

He reaches Omaha, and stops at the International. 
''Fare only four dollars a day, and not a very good 
time for charging, either. I have slept in just as 
good beds and eaten just as good meals many a time, 
and did not pay a cent. Omaha is a bristling little 
city, with here and there a first-class gentleman. 
Train now moving out of Omaha. From here to 
Sacramento City only 1,777 miles; time, if on time, 
four days. Pullman palace-car is a fine institution, 
with the single exception that the berths are a little 
too short for extended humanity. . . . Farmers 
in Nebraska busy; engaged in making hay; men, 
women, children, mules, are all at it. As I look out 
over these vast prairies, stretching for many miles 
along each side of the road, with only here and there 
an inhabitant [this was thirty-two years ago] , I can- 
not avoid thinking how much better it would be for 
thousands of families now crowded in eastern cities 
if they were here breathing the pure, fresh air, and 
cultivating these rich grounds. If our lands were 
cultivated, and the strength of our soil developed as 



158 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



in Europe, there could be stuff enough raised to sup- 
ply the inhabitants of the whole world. I feel like 
saying, Hurrah for our country! Free trade, free 
labor, free press, free church, free institutions, now 
and forever." Eeaching Grand Island, 153 miles 
west of Omaha, he writes again : "We dined at this 
place; had a fashionable dinner; only cost $1.25. If 
hotel-keeping was my forte, I should certainly come 
West to open up." 

He slept during the night, and in the morning was 
in Wyoming, a little east of Cheyenne. JSTot a tree 
or a bush was to be seen in any direction. "It looks 
as if our great-grandfathers might have lived here, 
cleared up the ground, wore it out, and then burned 
up their cabins and left. The soil, from appear- 
ances, is worthless. Just now, as I looked out of the 
window, I saw a drove of antelopes and more prairie 
dogs than I had ever dreamed of. The dogs sat close 
to their burrowing-places, and seemed to enjoy the 
sight of the passing train." 

He passed through Cheyenne, and writes again: 
"The officers on the train are very kind and gentle- 
manly. The passengers, for the most part, conduct 
themselves nicely. I have not heard an oath since 
we left Omaha. . . . We are on the down-grade, 
and moving at a rapid rate. One must see these 
mountains and plains before he can properly appre- 
ciate the scenery. When you think of these,' how- 
ever, you must not associate with the scenery trees 
covered with foliage, as in the Alleghenies. No, they 
are as bare as the pavements of your beautiful city. 



Second Term as Bishop 



159 



. . . We are now at Como Lake. The region 
round about presents a most dreary appearance. No 
living thing to be seen, except, now and then, a bird 
that must have lost its way. The territory of Wyom- 
ing is yet the home of the Indians, and is a land of 
sublimity and grandeur. It is useless to attempt to 
give a description of this wild region. Now in Utah. 
I wish I could describe these surroundings. Moun- 
tains piled on mountains, deep gulches, peaks and 
rocks. I cannot write, for looking and looking be- 
wilders me. Here is Echo Canyon. What I saw in 
Wyoming, and for the first fifty miles in Utah, is 
but mild scenery to what is seen at this place. Shall 
I tell you of the houses ? Some are built out of round 
poles, covered with dirt ; some are entirely con- 
structed of muslin, which makes one think of camp- 
meetings in the wilderness ; the greater number, how- 
ever, are sided with rough boards, covered with 
common muslin. They much resemble a soldiers' 
encampment. We are now in the Mormon country, 
and there are more signs of life. The valleys are 
narrow, but tolerably well cultivated. 

"We have just left Promontory, 1,084 miles from 
Omaha, and 690 from Sacramento. The town is no 
great scratch except for gamblers. It is rough, 
rougher, roughest. I passed a number of gambling 
tables and saw piles of gold. Many a green one loses 
his cash at these tables. It must be very unpleasant 
for the traveler to lose his money ; but then he ought 
to go away and stay away. Here, for the first time, 
we met with 'John Chinaman.' Here greenbacks are 



160 Biography of Jonathan "Weaver 



at a premium, only you have to pay the premium, 
that ? s all. Beached Elko, Nevada, September 11 ; 
one of the largest towns I have seen since we left 
Omaha. Most of the houses are covered with muslin. 
Here you see those large teams, ten or twelve horses 
or mules, hitched to one wagon. The town is hard. 
We stopped at this place one hour and a half for 
breakfast. We had a good meal and plenty of time 
to eat it. On the average, while outside the cars, I 
felt for my pocketbook about six times per minute. 
I did it in a very sly way, however. The people here 
love money, and they do not seem to be a bit par- 
ticular as to how they get it." 

Thus far he has not told of his fellow-passengers : 
"While we have about one hundred and fifty through 
passengers who took the train at Omaha, four of this 
number are ministers. Then we have some old men 
and women, and some young men and women. Some 
of this latter class are hard, and some of them are 
soft — say about half and half. Some are dressed 
very plainly, and some are dressed within an inch 
of their lives. Almost every imaginable fashion is 
represented here, even to the 'Grecian bend/ and 
some of the women have this latter very badly. Poor 
things ! how they must suffer. I have never seen a 
more barren and uninviting country than this. Not 
a human being to be seen, except at the little stations, 
and here and there a few 'John Chinamen/ with 
shovels and picks. We are now passing through the 
Humboldt Mountains. The dust, being full of alkali, 
is very disagreeable. This is a mining region of 



Second Term as Bishop 



161 



large hopes, extensive prospecting, and small returns 
— lizards, jackasses, all this and no more. Not a 
spear of grass is visible. Sage-brush, somehow, makes 
out to live, but how I cannot tell. Indians gather 
round the train at every station, not in a warlike at- 
titude, but as suppliants, willing to receive anything 
from the passengers that they may choose to give — 
bread, apples, cakes, tobacco, money, no matter 
what. Their appearance is most pitiable. Many 
of them are almost in a state of nudity. To say that 
they are filthy is putting it in the mildest possible 
language. 

"At four o'clock in the morning (September 12), 
the porter called me up to see the Sierra Nevada 
Mountains. We soon after entered the snow-shed. 
This is a great structure. Heavy posts are set down 
on each side of the track, then boarded up and cov- 
ered, and this continues for forty miles. Here and 
there, while passing through the snow-shed, we passed 
over trestleworks ranging from fifty to one hundred 
and twenty-five feet high. It was grand, but a little 
sheerish. Between Omaha and here we have changed 
climate about six times. Winter and summer alter- 
nate, . . . Thank fortune, we are out of the 
snow-shed. We have just passed the first view on 
the road, called Giant's Gap. It is 1,500 feet deep, 
but I could not see the bottom for the smoke. Our 
train ran very near to the edge of the precipice, and, 
as it wound around the mountain, resembled a huge 
snake. We are now in Sacramento, a town of 25,000 
inhabitants, and full of life and business. Almost 

n 



162 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



every nation is represented, and, from appearance, 
the morals are not to be boasted of." 

He reaches California in safety. After a week in 
which to look about, he gives his opinion: "Some 
say it is the best country in the world, and some say it 
is the worst. It is neither. The climate is better 
than in most of the States, but it does not prevent 
disease. Fever, ague, consumption, may be found 
here as well as in some of the eastern States. The 
water, for the most part, is poor. The principal 
crops are wheat and barley. It is the finest wheat 
country I have ever seen. The average yield is from 
forty to sixty bushels per acre; so of barley. Po- 
tatoes grow well, but are not so well flavored as those 
in Michigan. Farmers have no need to provide 
against the rain in harvest-time. !Not a drop of rain 
falls from the beginning of harvest till late in the fall. 
They need take no pains in stacking wheat. When 
they thresh it, they often leave it lying in the 
fields in sacks for weeks before they haul it to mar- 
ket. I saw on the banks of the Sacramento Eiver 
thousands of bushels piled up in this way, ready to 
be shipped. But, oh! the dust!" 

He gives a most glowing account of the fruit, as 
well he could. Pears, apples, peaches, plums, figs, 
grapes, lemons, oranges, pomegranates, etc. : "I have 
seen bunches of grapes as large as any four I ever 
saw before. Pears will sometimes measure from 
twelve to sixteen inches in circumference, and weigh 
two pounds. But, oh ! the dust" 

Concerning the people whom he met, he describes 



Second Term as Bishop 



163 



them, for the most part, as kind and hospitable: 
"They were generally well-behaved at church, but 
hard to move towards Christ. They have much less 
to say about the gold mines than the people in the 
East. They know more about them. They will boast 
about their country. In some instances, I think it 
is a little like the boy in the graveyard, whistling to 
keep his courage up." 

About the meeting of the conference, which was 
a pleasant one, he writes : "Some of our older con- 
ferences would hardly know how to hold a conference 
and camp-meeting together, but that is the custom 
here. They were held under the shadow of one tree 
— a good old oak. These trees are very low, but the 
trunks are large, and the limbs reach out from thirty 
to forty feet all around the tree. The ministers are 
good men, and most of them have the work at heart. 
The members are much devoted to the cause of Christ. 
How much they need help ! — earnest workers. If I 
were younger, and really desired to work for Christ, 
I would come to California. Young men in the east- 
ern States who can hardly find work to do ought to 
look to this rich and needy field. What if it is a few 
miles from home ; Jesus is here, and immortal souls 
are here. There is much work for the Church to do 
in this State, and now is the time to work. The 
country is settling up very rapidly. One great want 
is church-houses. A few years of faithful and ear- 
nest work by energetic men would establish the 
Church." 

Having completed his work in California, he made 



164 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



arrangements to start for the Oregon Conference. 

He could go by land, on the stage-coach, or by water. 
"From the representations of others, I had a right 
to expect that if I should go by water there would 
more than likely be a pretty general revolt of the 
internal states, and not liking secession movements of 
any kind, I concluded to try the stage. So gathering 
up my baggage, I was off. Six hundred miles by 
stage, through a mountainous country, looked rather 
formidable ; but having set this as a mark in life, to 
go as far as I could, I resolved to try. The first day 
out from Sacramento was a day of considerable trial. 
The dust was so intensely bad as to almost suffocate 
the passengers. 

"Beaching the foothills, we commenced the gradual 
ascent. On and on and still on we went, through 
deep ravines, around terrible gulches and canyons, 
until we reached the foot of Trinity Mountains. 
There we commenced to go up in earnest. For more 
than a day we had been ascending, and now we had 
six miles more to the summit. There opened the fin- 
est scenery I had ever looked upon. The road winds 
along the side of the mountain, where, to the unskilled 
engineer, it would be impassable. In some places, the 
road is very narrow, on one side it may be two hun- 
dred feet high, almost perpendicular, and on the 
other side as far down. Everything seems to depend 
on the skill of the driver. A variation of one foot, 
and you go down from two to three hundred feet. 
Beaching the summit, you might imagine the worst 
is now over; but no, it is just commencing. The 



Second Term as Bishop 



165 



driver cracks his whip, and away you go, down, down, 
down, full speed, from eight to ten miles an hour, 
never checking up until you reach the bottom on the 
other side. We now pass over a dismal region, with 
hills, bluffs, rocks, gulches, and mountains all around, 
until we reach the foot of Scott Mountain." 

He crossed this on a beautiful moonlight night. 
An incident occurred which he never forgot: "We 
were moving up the grade at a very slow rate. The 
night was cool — rather chilly. All the curtains were 
fastened down. Two or three of the passengers were 
asleep. The road, except at a few places, was very 
narrow. We met the stage coming from the north, 
and our driver took the lower side. I supposed we 
were passing nicely, when suddenly our driver called 
for help. I tore the curtains loose to spring out, but 
was hindered, for the other stage was in the way. I 
could get out only by jumping on the top of the other 
stage, and then jumping down at the rear end. Up 
to this time I did not comprehend the situation. In 
attempting to pass, the leader horse had been pressed 
so near the edge that he had gone over. There was 
a stone wall about three or four feet high ; at the bot- 
tom of this there was a projection of some two or 
three feet, and he had caught in that. The off horse 
seemed to comprehend the situation, and stood firm 
as a rock, and thereby kept the other from going over. 
By a hard effort he was gotten back into the road. 
Our vehicle stood on the very edge of the road. If 
this leader horse had not caught on the projection, 
he would have drawn the other horse after him, and 



166 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



the two would have drawn the two wheel-horses over, 
and, of necessity, we must all have gone down from 
two to three hundred feet. But the Lord reigneth, 
and the mountain was crossed safely." 

The mountains in the Humboldt region are not as 
high as those already crossed. Soon he came in sight 
of good old Mt. Shasta, which was forty miles away, 
and yet did not seem more than five, rising up in the 
shape of a cone about 15,000 feet above the level of 
the sea. It was refreshing to look upon it, and see 
the snow glistening in the sunlight. Soon he was 
over the line into Oregon. "Here is the finest timber, 
and the most of it, I ever saw in one country. The 
fir-trees attain the height of three hundred feet, rang- 
ing from three to six feet in diameter at the base. 
For more than one hundred miles we passed through 
this kind of country. Here in this dismal region 
we passed through what is called the Ten Mile Can- 
yon, the wildest place I ever saw ; sometimes we were 
above the tops of the tallest trees. Many years ago, 
an emigrant train got into this place, and was nine 
weeks in going ten miles. Soon we reached the Wil- 
lamette Valley. I am now in Philomath, some sev- 
enty miles from the head of the valley. 

"Do you ask me how I feel ? Five days and nights 
in the stage through those mountains gives a man a 
bit of experience that he will not soon forget. I 
slept four hours during the trip; not on the stage, 
mind you; that was out of the question, but they 
stopped at one place that long. I am badly used up. 
Every bone and muscle is sore — I am sore all over; 



Second Term as Bishop 



167 



and that, you know, is a good deal. Artemus Ward 
said that Brigham Young was the most married man 
he ever saw. I presume I was the most sore man in 
this region. There was but one through passenger, 
and he gave it up the fifth evening. I advise all men 
everywhere that have the least regard for a common 
humanity never to undertake to go through without 
stopping at least twice to rest and sleep." 

In a late letter, when he had visited somewhat, he 
gives an interesting account of Oregon. It was, in 
many respects, the opposite of California, which he 
had just left. The latter was warm and dry ; here it 
was cold and damp. He was charmed with the Wil- 
lamette Valley, one hundred and fifty miles long and 
from twenty to fifty miles wide, almost a state in 
itself. He found the largest and most delicious apples 
and pears he had ever seen — wheat, barley, and pota- 
toes in abundance. Like all others who go there, he 
was charmed with the view from Philomath. "The 
valley, with all its richness spread out before the eye, 
is dotted over with farms and farm-houses. Then the 
foothills rise up in a solid mass. Then beyond, and 
far above them, rise, in quiet grandeur, the moun- 
tains, around the tops of which the clouds hover to- 
day, as if delighted with their beauty. Away in the 
distance, old Mt. Hood rises up with its snow-capped 
summit, looking down in silent mockery upon other 
mountains that elsewhere would be regarded as great 
in themselves. Then there are Mt. Jefferson and the 
Three Sisters, all covered with perpetual snow and 
ice, rising up far above the surrounding mountains. 



168 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



All in all, the view from Philomath is most delight- 
ful." 

There were present twenty-three of the twenty- 
eight members of this conference. In some respects,, 
they were doing well. The bishop complains that a 
number of their best men are not consecrated to the 
work : "They are local, exceedingly so. I pray that 
God may thrust them out. I would remind those dear 
brethren that those who will be rich fall into divers 
temptations." 

He finds a prejudice here against the Chinamen,, 
as he found it in California. He thinks they are 
shamefully abused. "The same spirit that reduced 
the Africans to slavery is hovering around the China- 
men. If the law would allow it, they would be made 
slaves at once. Our Church stands up for them, as she 
always did for the slave in the South. If the people 
along the Coast could lay aside their ungodly preju- 
dice, and try, by every reasonable means, to educate- 
and elevate the Chinaman, it would ultimately turn 
to their advantage. Chinamen, upon first coming 
here, eat little or no bread, but they soon learn to eat 
it. Many of them return to their own country, and 
will introduce our manner of living among their own 
countrymen, and, by this means, there will be opened 
up to the Coast a market that will be a source of 
great wealth. If the people would look at this, in- 
stead of nursing their petty prejudices, they would 
give stronger evidence of good common sense. God 
will hold this nation responsible for the manner in 
which it treats this poor, ignorant people. In the 



Second Term as Bishop 



169 



providence of God, they are here, not to be abused 
and trodden down, but to be civilized and Christian- 
ized." 

He takes a steamer at Wheatland, on the Willa- 
mette Eiver, for Oregon City. "There is nothing pre- 
possessing in the appearance of the city, except, it 
may be, the beauty of the scenery. Rocks piled upon 
rocks, with here and there a fir-tree rising up from 
among them. Here the river comes rushing down 
over the rocks for a distance of forty feet, dashing 
its waters into foam. The natural advantages for 
water-power are not surpassed anywhere, and the 
Oregonians are availing themselves of them. There 
is sufficient available water-power at this place to 
drive all the machinery that Oregon will ever need. 
If I were a poet, I would describe this place in verse, 
but I am not, I feel some poetic flashes once in a 
while, but they are only flashes." 

Leaving Portland, he goes up the river Columbia, 
and is charmed by his surroundings: "Mountains 
and rocks rise almost perpendicularly to the height 
of from one to three thousand feet. Here and there 
a large rock rises up fifteen hundred feet. If I say 
it is weird, grand, magnificent, it will be but faintly 
describing the scenery to those who have never seen 
it. Here is where poets are said to catch their in- 
spirations." 

When he reaches Cascade Falls, he finds a wild- 
looking place. He takes the cars, the first he has seen 
since leaving California, and rides around these falls, 
a distance of six miles, and then takes a steamer 



17 1 - 1 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

again. A ride of forty miles brings him to Dallas, 
a town of one thousand people. '"'The river at Dallas 
winds among the rocks in narrow channels, sometimes 
falling from eight to fifteen feet. Here and there, 
as we are passing up the river, we come to what are 
called 'rapids.' It seems impossible that any craft 
could be built to pass over them where the water runs 
as rapidly as it does here. The water rushes down 
between and over rocks, boiling and whirling, until 
it is all in a foam. Yet our little boat, guided by a 
skillful hand, and under a full head of steam, passes 
over them beautifully, and then pursues her even 
way/ 5 

Passing on, he soon comes in sight of Blue Moun- 
tains. He is one hundred miles above Dallas ; does 
not stop during the day ; does not see a house or 
a white man on the shore all day; sees Indians in 
plenty; not a tree to be seen anywhere; all is bar- 
ren and unfruitful. The boat goes no further than 
Wallulah. Takes the stage for thirty miles through 
sage-brush and grease-wood, and reaches Walla Walla. 
Ten miles more on horseback, most of it after night, 
and he reaches the conference room, weary and tired. 

While pleased with the scenery, he saw other things 
not so pleasing. "At the hotels, on the steamer, al- 
most everywhere, you will see men gambling. Almost 
every man seems to understand it. Men who, at first 
sight, have the appearance of gentlemen, are first- 
class gamblers. On my whole trip from Portland to 
Walla Walla, I did not find a single Christian. I 
could not tell their politics, but I observed that they 



Second Terra as Bishop 



171 



were all down on -John Chinaman and the fifteenth 
amendment. They are white men, and believe in 
white man's government Concerning the Indians, it 
seems that every effort to civilize and Christianize 
them is a failure. " 

He held the Cascade Conference. '"Ten ministers 
and about two hundred members would compose the 
whole conference. More could have been done here 
but for lack of men. Ministers are poorly paid, and 
the people have no means to erect houses of worship. 
Some had worked very faithfully, but a few of them 
would very easily bear a little more energy," His 
work on this trip is now done, and there is a discour- 
aging look ahead of him. He has some five hundred 
miles to travel before he reaches the railway, and 
many more miles before he gets home. 



CHAPTEE X. 



Second Teem as Bishop, Completed. — 1869-1873. 

Soon after Bishop Weaver's return from the 
Coast, he removed his family from Roanoke, Indiana, 
to Baltimore, Maryland, and occupied the parsonage 
there which belonged to the East District. This had 
been assigned to him as his special field of work for 
this quadrennium. At the appointed times, he held 
the conferences as usual ; at other periods he was busy 
dedicating churches, assisting the brethren in spe- 
cial meetings, and when not otherwise engaged, using 
his pen for the edification of the Church. Dr. Theo- 
dore Cuyler, for a number of years in his more active 
ministry, wrote communications for the New York 
Independent, usually on some phase of religious life 
or teaching. These soon became very popular, and 
added greatly to the value of the journal. In his 
later years, in consultation with a friend, he said he 
was not sure but he had been of more service to the 
church by these contributions to the religious press 
than he had been by his more direct ministry. We 
are not sure but Bishop Weaver endeared himself 
more to the whole Church by his writings than in. 
any other way. His other work made him more or 
less local. By these articles he kept his hand, so to 
speak, on the whole Church. They were simple, and 



/Second Term as Bishop, Completed 173 

thus easily understood, eminently religious, and thus 
adapted to the earnest Christian ; they showed a good 
knowledge of human nature, as well as of the Church 
and its wants; they had in them a little vein of 
pleasantry now and then, which added to their enjoy- 
ment. Thus, full of good sense, earnest, sincere, 
hrief, and penetrating, they were read, admired, and 
did their work. 

In one of these he helps to answer the question 
which was always pressing his heart, Why do not all 
our ministers succeed in winning souls to Christ ? 
"There are, indeed, many hindrances to the good 
work. There are the natural enmity of the human 
heart and the power of Satan, worldly-mindedness, 
and formality; all these stand in the way of a min- 
ister's success, and must needs be overcome. But I 
am convinced that the greatest hindrance of all is 
want of entire devotedness to the work. The apos- 
tolic standard of ministerial devotedness was this: 
'Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to 
them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take 
heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine; continue 
in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thy- 
self and them that hear thee/ The resolution of the 
apostles was, 'We will give ourselves continually to 
prayer and to the ministry of the Word.' 

"It is a lamentable fact that they who have taken 
upon themselves this most solemn pledge in their 
ordination may wear the ministry as a loose garment, 
without any apparent compunction of conscience. It 
is to be feared their hearts are not in the work. If 



174 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



they were ever called of God to the work of the min- 
istry, they have backslidden in heart How can any 
man that feels the responsibility of the sacred office 
treat it with so much indifference ?" Words wisely 
and courageously said ! 

In a later article, he shows that, in accordance with 
the principles of human nature, the way to get men 
away from one course of life is to show them a bet- 
ter: "Earnest, persevering efforts are being made 
to induce men to turn away from the vanities and 
sinful pleasures of this world, yet the vast majority 
go right on as if wrong-doing would as certainly end 
well as right-doing. While I would not call in 
question the honesty of any man, yet I am well con- 
vinced that a vast amount of labor is lost by being 
misdirected, or in not fully comprehending the na- 
ture of mam !Now, whether it is certainly lawful to 
expose to view, at proper times and in a proper spirit, 
the evil tendency of any and every evil practice, I 
am sure it is not the better way to be continually 
dwelling on that side of a question. We seldom, by 
a law in our nature, let go an existing attachment, ex- 
cept by the superior force of a higher and a stronger 
one. 'It is the lower attachment that is dissolved by 
the higher.' If I were preaching to Chinamen, I 
would not expect to win them from paganism by heap- 
ing abuse upon Confucius and Fo ; but by letting 
them see what Christ is, show them a more excellent 
way ; dissolve the lower attachments by a higher." 

"Herein, I conceive, lies the real power of the 
church of Christ; not in constant denunciations of 



Second Term as Bishop, Completed 175 

the practices of wicked men, but by such a life as 
shall demonstrate that wisdom's ways are ways of 
pleasantness. Here, also, lies a great advantage, 
growing out of open-door experience meetings. Let 
Christians, whose every-day deportment is consistent 
with their profession, relate in the hearing of those 
who take pleasure in sin something about this better 
way. They have tried both roads, and are prepared 
to report. Wicked men will listen, and not a few of 
them have been won to Christ in this way." 

In his earlier ministry, he knew something of the 
sufferings and privations of the poor itinerant So 
he is always ready to put in a plea for a living sup- 
port for him. He lived to see a marked improve- 
ment in this respect, although we are not yet at the 
top of the hill. 

"For those men who are earnestly engaged in the 
itinerant work, I would speak. There is no class of 
men more abundant in labors and sacrifices than they, 
and there is no class of men so poorly supported as 
they. The faithful minister is a laborer, and 
God says he must be paid ; that he shall live of the 
gospel, not on it, as some might desire. I have had 
the heartache more than once while visiting minis- 
ters' families. Everything in and about the house 
indicated want. They live in poor houses, have but 
a little, plain furniture, and children barefooted and 
ragged in cold weather. You say I should not name 
this so publicly ; but how else can we reach it % An 
occasional earthquake is better than eternal silence; 
only so the people are moved. 



176 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



"In urging this matter, I am not wholly governed 
by any sympathies for the minister and his family, — 
to be sure this has its influence upon my mind, — 
but I am looking to the best interest of the cause of 
Christ. I tell you that ministers are men. They 
must have something to feed and clothe themselves 
and their families. Nov? when these things are want- 
ing, it is impossible for them to do the work they 
otherwise could and would do. The cause of Christ 
must suffer under the pastoral care of a half-sup- 
ported minister." 

He not only saw the great need, but suggested a 
remedy: "In the first place, we want live men in 
the steward's office, men who have some heart in this 
matter. Then let them canvass the whole community, 
in the church and out of it. There are scores of men 
outside of the church that will help to support a faith- 
ful, earnest minister. If the society has no male 
member that is fit for the office of steward, put a 
good sister into the office. All that is necessary is 
for the minister to go to work as a man of God, full 
of the Holy Ghost and faith. Then let the leaders, 
stewards, and all who feel the importance of the 
work, take this matter in hand, urge the necessary, 
yes, the absolute duty of supporting the minister, 
and it will be done handsomely. 

"If this is not done, serious results will follow. 
Some of the very best talent is driven out of the itin- 
eracy for want of an adequate support, and others are 
compelled to connect some other business with their 
appointed work in order to make a living. The con- 



Second Term as Bishop, Completed 



111 



sequence is, they are crippled, the work is crippled, 
and souls will be lost. Ministers ought not to be 
ashamed to work with their hands, but I tell you that 
if ministers do the work that ought to be done on 
their charges, they will not have time for other work. 
They must read, study, write, preach, and visit. 
There is enough to fill their heads, hearts, and hands 
without working half their time for their bread and 
meat." 

He has no good word for lazy preachers. They do 
not earn their pay : a A faithful minister has just as 
good a right to lay by a little for old age as have other 
men. The majority of our ministers that die leave 
their families in a very destitute condition. Their 
wives, who have shared in the trials and deprivations 
of an itinerant life, are left to battle with the waves 
and storms of life without anything to lean upon 
except their own physical energy, and that often 
broken and shattered. These are facts too painful to 
dwell upon ; nevertheless, they are facts, and the time 
has come when they ought to be remedied. All that is 
necessary is for the leading members in each society 
to unite with their stewards and urge this matter for- 
ward, and the work will be done, and well done." 

He was always more or less optimistic in his na- 
ture, and in his new location at this time, and with 
his surroundings, he may have felt more hopeful than 
ever. Indeed, a faithful child of God must believe 
that God will carry forward his plans in spite of all 
opposition. Strong in this faith, he summons us to 
the same courageous outlook: 
12 



178 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



"I believe the world is growing better. Things 
look more hopeful to me than ever before. There are 
more Bibles in the world to-day [1870] than there 
were at any time past. There are more ministers 
at work ; there are more missionaries in foreign fields. 
A little while ago, the Bible could be had in but one 
language, then in two, and now in more than one hun- 
dred and fifty different languages and dialects. 
There are more religious periodicals than ever be- 
fore ; more books on theology, sacred biography, and 
religious subjects generally, than ever before; more 
colleges under the supervision of the church, more 
children attending Sunday school in 1870 than in 
any year since the world began. Every revolution 
of the wheel of progress develops some new plan for 
advancing the cause of Christ. I know little about 
what people call a millennium. Whether Christ will 
reign with his saints a thousand years, I cannot tell. 
This much I do know, that Christ is reigning, and 
will reign until all enemies are put under his feet. 
Infidels may scoff and deride, and papal Rome may 
issue her bulls and edicts and declare papal infalli- 
bility ; no matter. Hell from beneath may move, and 
the old lion roar, but the morning cometh, slowly, it 
may be, but surely." 

He was thoroughly loyal to his own Church, and 
did not like to hear anything said against her, but 
this did not put him under obligation to abuse other 
good people. He had the warmest sympathy and 
friendliness for other Christian people, of whatever 
church or order, and hence he could well say: "An 



Second Term as Ifishop, Completed 179 

ecclesiastical bigot is one of the most detestable char- 
acters on earth. JSTo matter how cold and selfish a 
man may be in an unregenerate state, pure religion 
and ub defiled before God will make him generous. 
Oh, this narrow, bigoted, self-righteous spirit, how I 
hate it! It carries in its forehead the mark of the 
beast It is a relic of barbarism, baptized in the 
cesspool of Rome. It is high time that Christians 
everywhere should have done with their bigotry. It 
is time they should exercise Christian liberality, by 
allowing those who may differ from them as much 
virtue and integrity as they possibly can. There 
need be no sacrifice of principles in the exercise of 
Christian generosity." 

Bishop Weaver held the Allegheny Conference at 
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1870 ; in Feb- 
ruary, the Virginia Conference at Chewsville, Mary- 
land. He was present and helped to dedicate the 
''Biblical Chair'' provided for by Bishop Russel. 

In the fall of 1870, he started to hold a session of 
the Tennessee Conference. There had been a flood, 
which swept away a number of railroad bridges. He 
was delayed at Lynchburg, Virginia, from which 
place he wrote: 

"To add to the difficulties, some of the railroad 
companies are at war with each other. I reached 
here last evening, over the Orange & Alexandria 
Railroad, just five minutes too late for the Tennessee 
road, and, there being but one train a day, I was 
compelled to remain here twenty-four hours. This 
is Saturday, and my conference commenced on 



180 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Thursday afternoon. I am two hundred and fifty 
miles from the place, and cannot leave until 5 : 30 
p. m. By the time I reach Tennessee the conference 
will be, as poets say of winter in springtime, ' 'T is 
over and gone/ But I cannot help it, for I am doing 
my best. The president of the Baltimore & Ohio 
road told me before I started that I had better give 
up the notion of trying to get through, but I told 
him I did not belong to that family. Xothing can 
be accomplished without an effort, and I will try." 

Try he did, but that did not prevent him from 
having his own opinion of the spirit that seemed to 
actuate these railroad managers : 

"If certain officials at this place could have more 
regard for the traveling public, and less regard for 
their codfish dignity, forty or fifty passengers would 
not be laying over here to-day. Our train was not 
more than a mile from the depot when the Tennessee 
train moved off. This is an imposition on the travel- 
ing public. Some of the passengers were men of busi- 
ness ; there were ladies with children, anxious to get 
on, and others that were scarce of money. But, no 
matter, these dignitaries must gratify their noble feel- 
ings ; the world must know and feel that they are 
powerful men. Well, well, time will make all things 
even. There are little acts of kindness and generosity 
that men can show, without costing them a cent, and 
that would be worth vastly more than their willful- 
ness, but they are so blinded by their ideas of self 
that they cannot see it. Who will praise a man for 
exercising his willfulness where nobody is, or can 



Second Term as Bishop, Completed 181 



be benefited by it, not even himself I It is scarcely 
worth while for men to show, or attempt to show 
their dignity, for the little time they will live. Who 
will praise their meanness when they are dead \ Why 
not be noble, generous, and good ? 

"All along the railroad I see houses draped in 
mourning for Eobert E. Lee. There are thousands 
of hearts draped in mourning over the dear ones that 
fell in defending the flag that Eobert E. Lee strove 
to trail in the dust. Whatever may be .said in favor 
of Mr. Lee as a gentleman, a scholar, and a Christian, 
that one act of his life will remain a dark spot on his 
character as long as there are hearts that love the 
Stars and Stripes. 

"It is a beautiful day. The sun is shining brightly, 
but for my life I cannot feel cheerful. If I had no 
engagements, it might be otherwise. I submit simply 
because I cannot help it. Boarding here is four dol- 
lars a day. I can do better than that at home. I 
must stop writing, lest I say something that ought 
not to be said." 

But patience and perseverance will accomplish a 
great work. He finally reached the conference room 
on Sabbath, at ten o'clock, just three days behind 
time. He called the conference together, closed 
up the business, arranged to spend a week in the 
neighborhood, here and there, so as to attend a 
dedication the following Sunday at Greenville, Ten- 
nessee. 

The conference was small, composed of only seven 
members, most of them young and inexperienced, but 



182 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



earnest and goc-d men. '"'The church membership, in 
the main, is poor, but they are able, under a proper 
discipline, to do more than they have been doing. 
The country is good ; climate all that can be desired. 
What is wanting is system and energy. A little pow- 
der under some of their heels, with somebody to touch 
it off, would be a good thing, so it seems to me. In 
times past, the opposition has been very strong, and 
now it exists, but not as heretofore. The United 
.Brethren Church has a work to do in this country, 
and she will not be guiltless if she neglects it. ATany 
of the churches in this section are exceedingly forma]. 
A great reformation is needed. The plain, simple, 
spiritual worship peculiar to the United Brethren 
Church is needed among this people. The field is 
large, and the harvest is fully ripe, and if we thrust 
in the sickle in the name of the Lord, we shall gather 
a rich harvest/"' 

Everywhere he went he met with a kind reception. 
"The people here are generally very hospitable. One 
cannot help but feel at home among them. Xo mat- 
ter how plain the fare is, it is free, and you are made 
to feel that it is so. If the people had more enter- 
prise, with the advantages they have of climate and 
soil, this would soon become one of the best countries 
I have ever seen. They can raise wheat, corn, cotton, 
potatoes, and fruit in abundance." 

He was taken sick a few days after he returned 
from this trip, probably brought on by over-exertion 
in meeting and filling his engagements. His physi- 
cian bade him remain at home for some time, to 



Second Term as Bishop, Completed 



183 



rest and recruit, and he did so, canceling the engage- 
ments then made. 

His report for the East District for the year 1870 
shows an increase of 2,705 members, with other data 
showing a good growth. He then adds : "There has 
been a good degree of prosperity in the district dur- 
ing the year, and, in some of the departments, a very 
encouraging advance. God has been with us, and 
strengthened our hearts and hands. The ministers, 
almost unanimously, agreed to give themselves more 
earnestly to the good w T ork. If this is done, we shall 
prosper more and more. God will give us success 
in proportion as we consecrate ourselves to him, and 
to the work of winning souls to Christ. In the name 
of him who has committed unto us the words of con- 
ciliation, let us thrust in the sickle and gather in the 
ripe grain. Remember that he that goeth forth weep- 
ing, bearing precious seed, shall presently come home 
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Work to- 
day and to-morrow, and the next day you shall rest." 

E"ot long after this, Bishop Weaver was appointed 
by the executive committee of the proposed theological 
institution at Dayton, to solicit donations in books for 
the library. His heart was thoroughly enlisted in this 
enterprise. In a note, he said : "I am deeply inter- 
ested in the Seminary. We must have it ; should 
have had it long ago. We are late in commencing, 
and must work all the harder. God will help us, if we 
let him." The editor adds, "We hope the bishop will 
not only meet with abundant success in securing books 
for the library, but that he will also meet with breth- 



184 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



ren who will propose to him liberal donations for the^ 
endowment and buildings." 

His first newspaper article in 1871 was on "The 
Church's Power/' which he shows does not consist in 
members, nor wealth, nor in alliance with worldly in- 
stitutions, but in God's spiritual presence. Follow- 
ing this came others, "Religions, Natural and Re- 
vealed," "Forsaking All for Christ," "More About 
J esus" ; more should be heard in the pulpit, in class- 
meeting, prayer-meeting, in the family, in the streets,, 
in business circles, everywhere. 

He held East German Conference in Myerstown^ 
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, March 1, 1871;. 
twenty-six members present. A missionary meeting 
was held in the afternoon of Sabbath, and over $700 
secured. The Virginia Conference had been held 
February 16, at Mt. Hebron, Grant County, West 
Virginia. Parkersburg Conference was held March 
15, at Pennsboro, West Virginia. 

After holding his fall conferences, he returned to 
West Virginia to dedicate three churches. He was 
not in the best of health. The trip, however, had 
benefited him. He says: "The country, in the 
main, is rough, and many of the people are poor. 
The ministers, for the most part, are a hard-workings 
self-sacrificing class of men. For their age, there is 
not a more intelligent class of ministers to be found 
anywhere. They are studious and earnest in the 
great work of the Master, but they are poorly sup* 
ported. Their circuits are large, requiring a great 
deal of hard traveling. Their salaries will range 



Second Term as Bishojp, Completed 185 



from $100 to $350. Hilly as the country is, if some 
of these well-to-do farmers would give me a farm, 
with some, say about fifty, of their fine cattle, I 
should be very severely tempted to take it. They had 
better not make the offer unless they are serious." 

He reported for the year, in the East District, 
1,165 appointments, 1,031 classes, 34,740 members, 
an increase of 2,755 for the year. Money for all pur- 
poses, $189,763.32. 

''What Shall I Do with J esus V 9 is his opening ar- 
ticle in the Telescope for IS 72. We must all do some- 
thing with Jesus ; he stands in the way of each one 
of us. Others follow, as for example: ''Experi- 
ence" : the knowledge derived from experience is the 
most valuable of all knowledge. '"'Preaching ' ; if 
there is any one work under the heavens in which 
men ought to be in earnest, it is in preaching the 
gospel. "Observation" ; those who have been de- 
prived of the advantages of an early education may 
supply this lack by carefully cultivating the habit 
of observation. ''Selfishness" ; "That Better Coun- 
try" ; ''On and Off'' ; a little difficult for him to under- 
stand how it is that men professing to be called of 
God to preach the gospel can so easily lay it aside and 
take up some secular employment. "Contentment" ; 
"Our Ministry" ; we need more workers ; God will 
send them if we will let him ; our colleges cannot 
meet the demand. Later, he pleads through the press 
for a church in Washington City. 

He reports for the year 1871: Appointments, 
1,002 ; members, 35,769 ; increase of 1,647 during the 



186 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



year; collected for all purposes, $205,199.89. The 
sessions were all pleasant. There should be five times 
as many parsonages. There are about two hundred 
and thirty traveling preachers, and only five parson- 
ages reported. The Church paper should be more 
generally circulated; there is about one Telescope to 
every thirteen members. He made this report from 
Baltimore, Maryland. 

His discussion with Rev. Josiah Davis occurred 
this year, a fuller account of which will be given in a 
later chapter. 

His book on "Divine Providence" appeared about 
the opening of 1873, and was well received. He held 
the Virginia Conference at Hagerstown, Maryland, 
February 13 ; Pennsylvania, at Shippensburg, Penn- 
sylvania, February 19 ; East Pennsylvania, at Ann- 
ville, Pennsylvania, March 6 ; and Parker sburg, at 
Parker sburg, "West Virginia, March 12. He reports 
for the year 1872, as follows : Appointments, 1,177 ; 
classes, 1,113; members, 36,820; increase, 1,562; 
total paid for all purposes, $227,687.50. There had 
been an encouraging advance in nearly all depart- 
ments of Church work. A few articles written for 
the Church paper, and he had reached another Gen- 
eral ConfereiLce. 



CHAPTEK XL 



Public Discussions. 

In northeastern Ohio, where Bishop Weaver was 
reared and began his ministry, the people, especially 
the older ones, still have a tradition of him as a 
wonderful debater against the heresies of Universal- 
ism. He was early driven to study this question be- 
cause of the people whom he met ; and when he went 
to the bottom of it, he spoke with a courage and power 
which seemed almost invincible. 

When asked by a friend as to his experience in, and 
also his judgment as to the value of theological dis- 
cussions, he wrote him this reply : "I have had eight 
public debates, three on the mode, design, and sub- 
jects of Christian baptism, four on Universalism, and 
one on slavery. In each case I was challenged. As 
a rule, I would say that public debates are of doubt- 
ful propriety. In some instances, good has been ac- 
complished. Much depends upon the spirit in which 
a debate is conducted. It would not be proper for 
me to express an opinion as to the effects following the 
debates in which I was engaged. If there ever was 
a time when debates on theological questions were 
necessary, that time is not now. One very hopeful 
sign of the present age is that teachers of divine 
things are less inclined to keep in front those points 

187 



188 Biography of Jonathan lYeaver 



on which there is known to be differences of opinion, 
and more inclined to magnify those great cardinal 
truths upon which the majority are known to agree. 
If I do not misjudge, the spirit of the age is tending 
toward harmony. There seems to be a disposition 
to gather around the great cardinals truths of Chris- 
tianity, and allow all the minor questions to fall in 
the rear. While I think it is well for each denomina- 
tion to express somewhat in detail its belief in articles 
of faith, it is not wise to insist upon minor matters. 
The watchword of the great spiritual leaders of to-day 
is, 'I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of 
heaven and earth ; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, 
our Lord; who was crucified, dead, and buried; 
. . . the third day he rose" from the dead ; he as- 
cended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of 
God, the Father Almighty ; from thence he shall come 
to judge the quick and the dead.' Here is solid rock, 
upon which all can stand." 

One of these debates occurred near Elmwood, Illi- 
nois, in 1872. It had its origin in a sermon preached 
at a session of the Illinois Conference held in Elm- 
wood, by Rev. Joshua Dunham, on the second coming 
of Christ. Rev. J. H. Snyder was pastor of the 
United Brethren Church at that place. There were 
some Universalist families living in that neighbor- 
hood at that time, who took exception to the teach- 
ings of the sermon, and began to clamor for a debate. 
Rev. J. H. Snyder consulted with Bishop Weaver, 
and, having privately secured his consent to a dis- 
cussion, he began negotiations. Rev. Josiah Davis 



1'abLic Discussions 



was the choice of the other side. He was at that time 
regarded as the ablest defender of Universalism west 
of the Alleghenies. He had already conducted twenty- 
four discussions, and this was the twenty-fifth and 
last. He was a brother of Rev. William Davis, at 
one time president of Otterbein University, and later 
of Western College. Josiah Davis began his career 
in the United Brethren Church, also, and at onq time 
was very prominent in the Wabash country. He was 
a member of the General Conference of 1841, and 
was an aspirant for the bishop's office. He had, be- 
fore this, debated with Universalists, but finally, dis- 
appointed in his ambitions, he went over bodily into 
the ranks of Universalism. He had followed Bishop 
Weaver for three or four years, urging him to debate 
with him, but the bishop did not seek such contro- 
versy. Davis had just closed a controversy with a 
Methodist presiding elder, and delighted in this sort 
of work. He was a pleasant and interesting speaker, 
and not unskillful in arranging his arguments. 
Bishop Weaver took Davis over a route he had not 
before traveled. The question agreed upon was, "Do 
the Scriptures Teach the Ultimate Holiness and Hap- 
piness of All Men V 9 Davis was to affirm, and Weaver 
deny. A little later in the debate, the bishop threw 
him on the defense of Universalism as a system of 
religion. The result was the overthrow of this heresy 
in that section- of the country. 

The discussion was to last four days. Bishop Ed- 
wards was Bishop Weaver's moderator ; for two days 
President Weston, of Lombard College, Galesburg, 



190 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Illinois, the other two days, Eev. John Hughes, of 
Tablegrove, Illinois, were Davis's moderators. Mr. 
Snyder wrote to the Agent of the Publishing House 
an earnest request that a reporter be sent to secure 
a verbatim report, with a view to the publication of 
the results in book form. It would be interesting now 
if we had such a volume, but the Agent did not think 
the outlook would justify the expense-, and it was not 
done. 

The night before the discussion, the two bishops 
were entertained at Mr. Snyder's house at Elmwood. 
Bishop Edwards was known to be rather opposed to 
public debate. In this instance he manifested a some- 
what fearful spirit, as he had evidently never heard 
Bishop Weaver in debate, and did not know his 
strength in discussion. After supper, some twelve 
or fifteen United Brethren ministers dropped in for a 
visit with the bishops, among them Mr. Dunham, 
IN". A. Walker, S. Mills, and Isaac Kretzinger, all of 
them being well versed in public religious discussions. 
At an opportune moment, Bishop Weaver went to his 
valise and brought out a bundle of manuscript, and 
said, "I want to read a little to you." He had written 
out in full his introductory speech and his leading 
arguments on the several doctrinal subjects which en- 
tered into the discussion. These were later thor- 
oughly reviewed and published in "Universal Restora- 
tion. " 

The object in this reading was to obtain the moral 
support of his brethren, and especially to put confi- 
dence into Bishop Edwards. When they saw the 



Public Discussions 



191 



manuscript, some one said that if the bishop intended 
to depend on that, his opponent would floor him. 
Bishop Weaver would read a while, bringing out his 
strong points, and then would turn to Bishop Ed- 
wards and say, "Brother Edwards, how will that do ?" 
and Bishop Edwards always replied, "That will do." 
One hour was spent in reading. The look of fear and 
anxiety in the faces of the brethren gave way to confi- 
dence and courage and faith in the final result. 
Bishop Weaver then said, "Have you any questions 
to ask or any suggestions to make V Brother Walker 
said, "I suppose you know that Davis is a Winchester- 
ite, and will make a strong argument on that scrip- 
ture which speaks of 'preaching to spirits in prison' ?" 
Bishop Weaver asked, somewhat anxiously, "Where 
is that?" Brother Walker turned to the Epistle of 
Peter and read it. Bishop Edwards asked Bishop 
Weaver if he was acquainted with that passage. 
Those who heard his answer will never forget their 
feelings when he replied, "'Oh, yes, I know all about 
that," and then, raising his hand and waving his in- 
dex finger, he added, "Brethren, there is not an argu- 
ment or position taken by the Universalists that 1 
don't know/' The whole subject was dropped at this 
point, and the evening passed cheerfully. Bishop 
Weaver had won the complete sympathy and confi- 
dence of all his brethren, and the results of the dis- 
cussion forever strengthened their confidence. 

The debate was held in Paradise Chapel, three 
miles north of the town of Elmwood. It is a large 
church, but was crowded at every session. Two hours 



192 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



of the forenoon and two of the afternoon were occu- 
pied. There was preaching in the evening, the Uni- 
versalists occupying one evening and the United 
Brethren the alternate one. There were some thirty 
United Brethren preachers present to hear the dis- 
cussion. Bishop Weaver's first address upset Davis. 
The bishop, instead of following Davis in the direct 
negative, ran a counter affirmative. After the second 
day, Davis was on the direct negative. At noon on 
the fourth day, it was suggested to the bishop to 
reserve about ten minutes at the close for an exhorta- 
tion. When his final review was done, he turned to 
the moderator and asked, "How much time have I 
yet?" and was answered, "Eight minutes." He 
paused, and then said, in substance: "We have now 
come to the end of this discussion. We are all going 
to eternity. How awfully solemn the reflection. We 
shall soon all be there. I have taught you the doctrine 
I believe. Christ, our salvation, died for us. All 
who believe in him shall live forever. All who come 
to him by faith shall have a present salvation from 
sin. They have peace with God. Believe in him, and 
you shall never die. When the end comes, you may 
say with Alfred Cookman, T go sweeping through 
the gates into the Xew Jerusalem.' I warn you 
against the lake of fire. I tell you, friends, there is 
danger of trifling with eternal things. God is good, 
but he is also just. I cannot promise you eternal life, 
according to Universalism, but if you obey the gospel, 
thank God, you shall live forever. The city of God 
is open for you now. You shall eat of the tree of 



Public Discussions 



193 



life, in the midst of the paradise of God ; and when 
death-drops stand on your marble brow, you may say, 
'Light breaks in/ and you shall meet the moving mil- 
lions, who, like a cloud of glory, are circling around 
the great white throne. In hope of the joys of the 
better land, we say farewell. Let us sing, 'Praise 
God, from whom all blessings now.' " 

No one can describe the effect of that appeal. The 
people arose to their feet, and amens and shouts came 
from all over the house. Mr. Davis looked as pale 
as a corpse^ A glorious victory for truth and right- 
eousness had been won. The result was the destruc- 
tion of Universalism in that community. 

Some interesting little incidents occurred during 
the debate. Mr. Davis, at one time called Bishop 
Weaver's presentation of his views of truth "a bank- 
rupt system." The bishop replied, a Yes, we are all 
bankrupt; but Christ has paid the debt and set us 
free." As they were bidding each other good-by, at 
the close of the discussion, Bishop Weaver said, 
"Brother Davis, I advise you to take advantage of the 
bankrupt system." 

At one time, Mr. Davis endeavored to present some 
statements in Bishop Weaver's book on the "Besur- 
rection." The bishop answered : "Brother Davis is 
welcome to all he can get out of that book. I would 
like to sell about thirty copies here to-day." There 
was no further allusion to the book. 

Mr. Davis, in referring to the loss of the wicked, 
said, "If Brother Weaver's position is true, I don't 
see how he can afford to be happy." Said the bishop : 

13 



194 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



"I can tell Brother Davis why we can afTord to be 
happy. It is because we have two chances. If our 
position is not true, we have Universalism to fall back 
on." At this Itr. Davis sprang to his feet, but made 
no further reply. 

Some two years after this, this same pastor (Mr. 
Snyder) suggested to Hr. Davis another debate, but 
he said he had left, that work to other hands. Air. 
Davis, we are informed, is still living, in advanced 
years, near Virgil, Kansas. 

At the close of the discussion, the United Brethren 
ministers present met and adopted the following reso- 
lutions: "We hereby tender our worthy Bishop 
Weaver our thanks for defending in an able manner 
the Bible doctrine of endless punishment, and for the 
valuable service he rendered the United Brethren 
Church. We further express our entire satisfaction 
with the spirit and manner in which he conducted this 
discussion : that he successfully met every proposition 
afnrmed by Eev. Air. Davis. We a]so extend our 
thanks to Bishop Edwards for the impartial manner 
in which he presided as moderator." 

Bishop Weaver had a debate before this time, be- 
fore he became a bishop, in the northeastern part of 
the State of Ohio. The Universalists in that section 
were somewhat aggressive in their methods; and, 
knowing that Bishop Weaver was not much of a 
scholar, and presuming he was not familiar with their 
creed, they concluded it would be a comparatively 
easy thing to hold him up to the public as not com- 
petent for his place. So two men of some note in that 



Public Discussions 



195 



community pressed him to debate -with them on the 
principles and teachings of Universalism. The 
bishop never challenged, but was always the chal- 
lenged mam He hesitated in this case, but his 
Church brethren urged him, as there were several in 
that neighborhood who inclined to that delusion, and 
if he declined, it would militate against him. He 
finally consented, and arrangements were made. It 
was agreed that the debate last four days. After the 
first day, one man gave up. After one speech on the 
second day, the other man retired from the contest. 
It was reported that the first man was sick, and hence 
could not go on; but his associate said he could not 
do anything. The second man finally said to Bishop 
Weaver , "You give us a talk on the immortality of 
the soul, and we will stop right here. I do not intend 
to carry this any further." 

His last debate on this subject was near Xew Phila- 
delphia, Ohio, with a Rev. X. S. Sage, a scholarly 
man and a good speaker. The discussion came about 
as follows : Bishop "Weaver was well acquainted with 
a Dr. Otis, of that community, a prominent physi- 
cian and member of the Lutheran Chuich. Mr. Sage 
was a Universalist preacher, who gave a broad chal- 
lenge to all creation, almost, for a debate on his pet 
theme. The ministers in Xew Philadelphia at this 
time were comparatively young men, and hesitated 
to accept such a challenge from that self-appointed 
Goliath of Universalism. The more prominent men 
in their respective churches dissuaded them, fear- 
ing the result. Dr. Otis knew Bishop Weaver quite 



196 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



well, and, having faith in his ability to defend the 
orthodox views, urged him to accept the challenge. 
After considerable correspondence, the bishop 
yielded, and agreed to undertake the debate. The 
judge of the court was selected as moderator. The 
discussion was to continue four evenings and one day. 
The three evenings were occupied, and the next day 
being Saturday, it was not possible for the judge to 
be present. Nothing was done during the day, and 
the debate closed, with Saturday night It was the 
beginning of the end of Universalisni in that section. 

In his contest with Mr. Sage, Bishop Weaver 
would again and again press the question as to when 
the wicked would all be converted. The doctrine of 
the Universalists asserted that thev all would be, Mr. 
Sage's friends grew a little restive under the galling 
fire, and complained. The bishop knew a young 
lawyer in town who was not a Christian. So, one day, 
he said to him, "You are skilled in the presentation 
of arguments before the court, and you have listened 
to me in these debates ; do you think I am unfair in 
pressing this question ?" "£fo," said the lawyer, 
"that 's just the thing we fellows want to know. I 
think it is right to make them tell it" 

Some six months after this debate, Bishop Weaver 
and Mr. Sage met in Fort Wayne. Indiana, and 
greeted each other pleasantly. Mr. Sage was on his 
way West to preach. He said to the bishop, "I did 
not know you before we met to debate ; if I had. the 
debate would not have occurred." Some years later, 
Mr. Sage came back to I^ew Philadelphia as a minis- 



Public Discussions 



197 



ter in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and united 
with the Pittsburg Conference. The man who intro- 
duced him to the Methodist Episcopal Conference 
said, "The theological drubbing which Rev. J. 
Weaver gave Mr. Sage, some years ago, made a 
Methodist preacher out of him." 

In the Tuscarawas Advocate, dated September 23, 
1886, there appeared the following item: "Kev. 

S. Sage, who was a prominent figure in the North 
Ohio Conference at Canal Dover during the past 
week, is the former apostle of Universalism who is 
so well known in this city in connection with the fa- 
mous debate held here, many years ago, between him 
and Bishop J. Weaver, of the United Brethren 
Church. It was stated in the conference on Tuesday 
morning that the logical drubbing which Mr. Sage 
received on that memorable occasion was the means of 
opening his eyes to the truths of orthodoxy, and after- 
wards led to his conversion to Methodism. This seems 
to be one of the few cases we hear of alteration from 
a standard to a narrow-gage." 

Dr. H. J. Becker, now residing in Dayton, Ohio, 
then an unconverted man, was stopping in New Phila- 
delphia, having some bills printed, at the time of this 
debate. He says : "I heard of the battle of the doc- 
trines, and distinctly remembered the name of the 
bishop, and can recall some of the remarks made at 
the hotel. The 'boys' feared that Mr. Sage was not 
enough for Bishop Weaver, and that the doctrine of 
'calorics' was orthodox after all." 

It is reported on good authority that Bishop 



198 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Weaver was invited to remain over Sabbath and 
preach in the Methodist Episcopal church, which he 
consented to do. At the close of the sermon, Rev. Mr. 
Ball, the pastor, arose and said to the audience: 
"Brother Weaver has done a great and good work in 
this community by reason of presenting arguments 
against Universalism which all the Universalists this 
side of hell cannot answer, and I want you to show 
your appreciation of his work by giving a liberal con- 
tribution to his support*" A collection of seventy- 
five dollars was lifted, which was considered unusu- 
ally liberal. 

Rev. J. G. Baldwin says: "It was my privilege 
to attend a debate he once had with a Universalist 
minister in Canaan, Wayne County, Ohio. His first 
speech drove his opponent into restorationism, and 
for three days and evenings there was as complete a 
floundering as was ever seen in a theological battle. 
The preacher said himself that he was no match for 
Bishop Weaver. I remember, on one occasion, when 
we were both attending a meeting of the board of 
trustees of Otterbein University, business was a little 
dull one day, and the bishop came and sat down by 
my side and asked, 'Baldwin, what do you think when 
you think about nothing V I answered, 'I think of 
your debate with Binns, the Universalists 'That ? s 
so/ he said, and was greatly amused at the retort" 

These same two men, Baldwin and Weaver, were 
in Alliance, Ohio, one day, walking up and down the 
platform waiting for a train, A well-dressed stran- 
ger followed them, and finally, stepping forward, 



Public Discussions 



199 



asked, the bishop if he were Bev. Mr. Weaver. 
The bishop answered, "I am called that sometimes." 
The stranger then said, "I am a Disciple minister, 
and should like to ask if you would debate the ques- 
tion of baptism with some one that I might select ?" 
Bishop Weaver, in rather a comical manner, stretched 
himself to his full height, and replied, "Certainly; 
I am a little like a lightning-rod, always ready for a 
track." The gentleman looked at him in amazement 
for a short time, and then walked away without an- 
other word. The reference to lightning may have 
frightened him, as the debate never materialized. 

He did have three debates with the Disciples, or 
Campbellites, as some call them, on the mode, sub- 
jects, and designs of Christian baptism. It is the 
opinion of the writer that all these occurred before he 
was elected, bishop. One of these occurred near 
Beach City, another not far from Wooster, and the 
third near Sandyville, Ohio. These all awakened con- 
siderable interest, especially the last, in which a Mr. 
Moss was the contestant. There was a Disciple 
Church at this place, with a large membership. The 
-Methodists, who were located here, opened the way 
for the debate. Two days were given to each subject, 
making six in all. Some years later, Bishop Weaver 
was invited to return to preach in the Methodist 
Episcopal church. He went, and found it a fine new 
church. Some of the members told him this church 
was the result of his debate. 

During one of these discussions, a disputant whom, 
because we do not know his name, we shall call Mr. A, 



200 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



was aiming to show from the original Greek, as well 
as from common use, the meaning of "immerse/' as 
he understood it, and said he could prove his position 
from Bishop Weaver's own use of the word, claim- 
ing that when they were canvassing a time that would 
be most convenient for them to hold the debate, the 
bishop declined to come at a certain time, alleging 
he was so immersed in business and other duties that 
he could not come. When Bishop Weaver came to 
reply, he said : "True, I did write Mr. A that I was 
immersed in business; but I was not immersed in 
his sense. I did not go down into the business; it 
came down upon me. 3 * 

Bishop Weaver possessed several qualities which 
made him a good controversialist, among them we 
may mention: 

1. His perfect self-composure. He was never 
rattled, never thrown off his balance, always fair to 
his opponent, and sweet in his temper and manner. 
The following story is told by Bishop Edwards: 
"Some strictures had been made upon an article writ- 
ten for the press by Bishop Markwood. In replying 
to it, Bishop Markwood used some stormy phrases, 
accompanied with some trifling and sarcastic re- 
marks. Bishop Weaver, then a young bishop, wrote 
a reply under an assumed name, taking the very 
proper position that the bishops should be more care- 
ful in their published productions, and should not 
give anything to the press which would not comport 
with their own dignified position, or which would 
reflect on the good name of the Church. Bishop Ed- 



Public Discussions 



201 



wards did not approve of this quiet rebuke admin- 
istered to Brother Markwood, and so sought to find 
the author. After several failures, he, one day, ac- 
costed Bishop Weaver, saying, in an inquiring tone, 
"Jonathan, did you write that article concerning 
Markwood 2" He finally confessed that he did. Ed- 
wards in relating this story afterwards, said, "I just 
took off my gloves and gave him a good talking to; 
just what he deserved." The listener, anxious to 
know what effect this had on Bishop Weaver, in- 
quired, "Did it make him mad?" "No," said 
Edwards, as if in a disappointed tone, "he is 
the best-natured man I ever saw. You cannot 
make him angry." Nor could his opponent in a 
debate. 

2. He thoroughly believed what he sought to 
teach. He was conscious he was on the side of truth. 
He sought to get to the very foundation of truth. 
There were some questions on which he had not yet 
come to a positive conclusion ; but when he did come 
to a conclusion he had a reason for the faith that was 
in him. He thoroughly prepared himself for the 
undertaking by seeking to answer his own arguments, 
and if he could not, he had a reasonable hope that 
others would not be able to do so. 

3. He also thoroughly studied the side of his op- 
ponent. He knew both sides of the question. He 
knew as well beforehand what his opponent must say 
as he did after he had spoken. It was not mere boast- 
ing when he asserted that there was not an argument 
to be adduced in favor of Universalism that he had 



202 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



not examined. Thus thoroughly fortified, there were 
no surprises in store for him. 

4. He had an abundance of incidents and illustra- 
tions which would help to make plainer his argument. 
They would help, also, to interest his audience, re- 
lieve, at times, the logical tension, and keep him in 
closer touch with his hearers. 

5. His quickness at repartee, combined with a 
happy delivery, made him an interesting speaker. 
The rich vein of humor running through his nature 
served him to good purpose* His was always the "re- 
tort courteous/' but was, nevertheless, amusing. He 
compelled even those not in sympathy with his teach- 
ings to respect his fairness and courtesy. 

In his earlier history, he found these debates to be 
the best mental drill he had ever gone through with 
up to that time. He was compelled to study, not one 
side alone, but both sides of a question. This made 
him fairer in his judgments, helped him to put him- 
self in place of another and see truth as the other saw 
it. It helped him to think on his feet, and to face 
an audience without trembling. He honored his 
Church, and made it better known to many. It helped 
to make him an excellent presiding officer, who sought 
to deal fairly with all and to oppress none. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Third Election as Bishop — 1873. 

The sixteenth General Conference met in Dayton, 
Ohio, May 15, IS 73. One hundred and twenty-five 
delegates had been elected. During the previous 
four years, the membership had been increased 
over seventeen thousand, making the entire mem- 
bership at this time over one hundred and twenty- 
five thousand. The conference was, in the main, 
quite conservative, and yet some radical steps were 
taken. The address of welcome was made by Rev. 
C. Briggs, the pastor of the Eirst Church, and 
Bishop Weaver was chosen to reply, which he did, 
in part, after the following fashion : er We have come 
here to greet each other and the kind Christian peo- 
ple of this city ; and you may be sure that up to this 
moment, as far as I have the means of knowing, we 
feel ourselves wonderfully at home. If we needed 
any proof at all of your hospitality, or if we had 
needed any, it would be altogether at hand just now ; 
for we have already sat by your hearths, and warmed 
by your fires, and slept in your beds, and ate at your 
tables; and if ministers are not judges of these 
things, I should like to know where you would find 
them," etc. 

Later during the session. Rev. B. W. Chidlaw, the 



204 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

veteran Sunday-school worker, who for years repre- 
sented the American Sunday-School Union, spoke 
very cheeringly of the good work the Church was 
doing in this direction, and the help our members 
gave him. Bishop Weaver was selected to respond 
to this address, which he did, as follows : "I would 
say, brethren, that I have always counted myself a 
miserable platform speaker. I can make just as good 
a speech on the platform as any man, if I only know 
just what to say. That is always in my way. I think, 
however, I ought to say, in behalf of these Christian 
men, these delegates representing the United Breth- 
ren Church from all over the land, that we are in the 
field. We went out into the field a good while ago, 
and we are in the field now, and there we intend to 
stay and fight it out on this line. I am happy to say 
that in this great, good, and blessed work, to which 
reference was made by our good brother, we are 
heartily with them in that department of work, and 
our mission shall be, to gather in all the youth of 
this land, as far as it is possible, under the influence 
of our Sabbath-school work, and thereby win many, 
very many of these to Jesus Christ I unite with 
that brother in bidding God-speed to everything that 
has for its object the gathering in of our youth to the 
fold of our Lord J esus Christ." 

He was, by turns, one of the presiding officers of 
the Conference, and was not so> much accustomed to 
talking, unless on questions concerning which he had 
special information, or to help out of difficulties. He 
had none of that itch which puts men on the floor to 



Third Election as Bishop 



205 



hear themselves talk. He spoke on the proposition to 
make Parkersburg a self-sustaining conference after 
two years, for he had learned something of their con- 
dition during the last four years: "They have a 
membership of five thousand, it is true, but it is not 
like the same membership north, east, or west. The 
people are poor, very poor. You are not prepared to 
judge of their circumstances unless you have visited 
them among the hills and mountains. It has been 
difficult to keep in the field some of the very best men 
that are there. There are half a dozen now just on 
the point of leaving. They say they cannot stand it 
any longer. They are earnest and faithful workers, 
but have families dependent upon them for support, 
and receive one hundred dollars, sometimes one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars a year. I have no sympathy 
for Parkersburg that I have not for any other confer- 
ence, but I know how they are circumstanced. They 
have not yet recovered from the effects of the Re- 
bellion," 

The matter of lay delegation was one of the sub- 
jects which came before this Conference. There was 
nothing in the constitution of the Church to prevent 
lay delegates in the annual conferences, provided the 
General Conference was willing to order it, but lay 
delegates could not be admitted to the General Con- 
ference except by a change of the general plan of gov- 
ernment In the Conference of 1869, a standing com- 
mittee was appointed on this subject, but its report 
was voted, down by fifty-five to thirty-two, mainly on 
the ground that there was no special desire for it on 



206 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



the part of the laity, but mostly , we take it, because 
the older men believed that ecclesiastical power prop- 
erly belonged to the ministry. A report was made 
providing for a change of constitution, and for the 
election of delegates, and it was earnestly and vig- 
orously discussed. It was agreed to submit a change 
of constitution, so as to secure this result, and Bishop 
Weaver voted for it He had always been an advo- 
cate of lay representation. The plan provided for 
its adoption, if two-thirds of those voting on the ques- 
tion were friendly to it. It was asserted, however, 
that there should be no alteration of the constitution, 
except by request of two-thirds of the whole Church. 
The question as to what was meant by "two-thirds'' 
was referred to the bishops, who were a tie in this 
vote, and no conclusion was reached ; so the plan for 
lay delegates at that time failed. 

Another revision of the Discipline was proposed, 
which provided that the ministers in charge who 
found members of the Church members of a secret 
society, should erase their names, thereby dismissing 
them from the Church without a vote of the class. 
This was on the supposition that the membership 
might be divided in sentiment, and might hesitate to 
vote for expulsion, but that the pastor would be more 
likely to carry out the rule of the Discipline, This 
proposition elicited no little opposition, as being un- 
American in nature and unjust in its effects. It was 
finally passed by a vote of seventy to thirty-one, 
Bishop Weaver voting against it. We are of the 
opinion that this law was unjust in its operation, and 



Third Election as Bishop 



207 



did not a little to lead to the unrest which finally re- 
sulted in disintegration. 

Late in the session, a committee on pro rata repre- 
sentation made report. It was moved to amend this 
to say that each conference shall have two clerical 
delegates and one layman. Dr. Garst moved to so 
amend as to say, "Equal lay and ministerial dele- 
gates," one for every two thousand members. On this 
proposition, Bishop Weaver was recorded in the nega- 
tive. 

It was voted to celebrate 1874 as a centennial year, 
1774 being the year in which the first independent 
congregation was founded at Baltimore by William 
Otterbein. The bishops were appointed a committee 
on centennial interests. 

Bishop Weaver was appointed "to classify and ar- 
range the subject matter of the book of Discipline, 
and submit it to the Board of Bishops for approval 
during the ensuing quadrennial term; and that this 
Board present the same to the next General Confer- 
ence for ratification or rejection." 

In his personal remarks at the close of the Confer- 
ence, he says : "I have been at work in my own way 
in this Church twenty-eight years. I have not been 
local an hour in all those years. I have not done the 
work as well, to be sure, as some others might have 
done it, but, in my own way, I have been engaged 
in it during this time; and I feel willing to-night to 
continue in this work. I expect to continue to labor 
for Christ in some way as long as I have strength to 
do so. I want to say to the brethren who represent, 



208 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



on this floor, the district I have been traveling for 
four years past, that I think it due them that I should 
say in a public way, I thank you, and also the con- 
ferences you represent, for the kindness you have 
shown me from the first to the last. I shall leave this 
district with the kindest feelings toward every min- 
ister and every member of it. So far as I know in 
my heart, while among you I have received encour- 
agement, not only of heart, but of a substantial 
nature ; and I want it to be recorded in the thoughts 
and hearts of the friends constituting these confer- 
ences, that I return to you my most sincere thanks, 
after the four years past. And in regard to the mem- 
bers of the Ohio District, I have no other thought 
than to meet you as co-laborers in this good cause, that 
we may unitedly send to heaven earnest, fervent 
prayers for God's blessing upon the work intrusted to 
our hands." 

At this conference, the bishops were reelected, 
Weaver for the third time. He received eighty votes, 
Edwards eighty-two, Dickson sixty-eight, and Gloss- 
brenner sixty-three. Edwards was assigned to the 
East District, Weaver to the Ohio District, Dickson to 
the East Mississippi, and Glossbrenner to the West 
Mississippi. Bishop Weaver's territory comprised 
the following conferences : Scioto, Sandusky, Miami, 
Auglaize, Ohio German, Michigan, Canada, North 
Ohio, Western Eeserve — nine in all. 

In June, he appears in the Telescope with an ar- 
ticle, entitled, "Moving," showing its advantages and 
disadvantages. Just then he was packing up his 



Third Election as Bishop 



209 



goods to move from Baltimore to Dayton. Later, 
there appeared articles, entitled, "In Union There Is 
Strength/' "Power in Religion/ 7 and also a vigorous 
appeal for donations of books for the Union Biblical 
Seminary library. July 30, he writes a letter to an 
anti-secret society, which was published in the Tele- 
scope of August 20 : "Let Christians be content out- 
side of the lodge-room. It is enough for them to 
know and feel that they are members of a brotherhood 
that takes in all the pure and good; a brotherhood 
of loving hearts, baptized by one Spirit into one body ; 
a brotherhood whose Elder Brother has gone to pre- 
pare them a home/' 

He held Miami Conference, August 13, at Ar- 
canum, Ohio; Sandusky, September 3, at Osceola, 
Ohio; Scioto, at Pataskala, Ohio, September 10; and 
Western Reserve, September 17, at Newman's Creek, 
Chapel, Ohio; and the others in their order. Then 
came another appeal for the Seminary, whose faith- 
ful friend he always was to the day of his death. 
"That Prayer of the Prophet/' "O Lord, Revive 
Thy Work," "He Lived for Others," "On the Death 
of John Howard" — these articles, with the dedica- 
tion of First Church, Dayton, Ohio, closed his labors 
for 1873. 

It had been decided that 1874 should be observed 
as a centenary year, so early in January there came 
an article from his pen, entitled "Our Centenary 
Year," and another on "Church Building," in which 
he said that it is easier to raise money for a church 
oefore it is built than afterward. Another article 

14 



210 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



appeared, asking for larger contributions. Then the 
following articles: "The Atonement" — the leading 
truth of Christianity ; "More of Christ" ; "Stopping 
Over" — thoughts that came to him while waiting for 
a train; "Who Shall Eoll Away the Stone?" we 
must not be deterred from doing our duty because 
there are difficulties in the way; "How Is It?" 
no excuse or apology for Christians who indulge in 
saying hard things. May 13, he made an address to 
the graduating class of Union Biblical Seminary; 
held Ohio German Conference, March 12, at Dan- 
ville, Illinois ; held Ontario Conference at Gainsboro, 
Ontario, May 7. 

He reports for the year 1873 : Appointments, 
1,032 ; organized churches, 844 ; membership, 34,947, 
an increase during the year of 1,026; total money 
collected, $206,877.49. 

Later in the year, he wrote an article on "Law 
Principles," in which he takes exception to an edi- 
torial by Editor Wright reflecting on the Ohio Dis- 
trict, which Bishop Weaver was then serving: "No 
man, living or dead, ever heard me say a word in fa- 
vor of secret societies. Yet, because I may not inter- 
pret every item of law just as the editor does, the im* 
plied charge of insubordination, rebellion, usurpation, 
treason, self-conceit, inactivity, and dodges is laid at 
my door. If a brother finds it in his heart to use 
such language, he is at perfect liberty to do so. I shall 
not complain." The skirmishing which led to the 
final contest had already commenced. 

He held his usual conferences belonging to the 



Third Election as Bishop 



211 



Ohio District, and found time to furnish some articles 
for the Church paper. "Money" appears first; "Is 
Life a Dream?" — many act as if they thought so; 
"Hereafter" — things there will seem strangely dif- 
ferent from what they do now; "Watchman, What 
of the Night?" closes the year; from the human 
standpoint the night is long and dark, but the day is 
dawning. 

The first issue of 1875 contains an article on "Ec- 
clesiastical Tests," in which he asks the question, Can 
a church establish a test of membership, by which to 
exclude from her communion any whom she recog- 
nizes as Christians? which question he answers af- 
firmatively. Later, comes "An Idea," in which he 
shows we should not be men simply of one idea. In 
May, he starts West to visit the conferences on the 
Coast, and writes a few letters, which he entitles 
"Here a Little and There a Little." In the first one 
he says : "We are now more than a thousand miles 
west from Omaha, and I have seen only one person 
reading the Bible; yet we have on board more than 
a score of members of church. There: is one man 
from Philadelphia who is a member of a popular 
church. He can play cards, read novels, and talk 
religion all in the same hour; and there sits a min- 
ister who just at this moment said he had drank only 
two glasses of lager beer since he left New York. 
Some people have a powerful sight of religion at 
home, but when away from home they have none 
worth speaking of. A gentleman on the train, who 
hails from a city in Indiana, stated that the best danc- 



212 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



ers in that city were members of church. He is him- 
self a member of church, and thinks that dancing and 
theater-going are all right. It seems to me the devil 
is getting looser and looser all the time. The time 
has come when Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, 
and United Brethren will apologize for almost any 
sin under the heavens." 

He writes at some length concerning his visit. The 
churches seem to him very formal : "The people are 
drunken with the love of pleasure; church fairs and 
festivals are kept up more closely than prayer- and 
class-meetings. At these gatherings they will talk, 
eat, drink, and dance, and at the close will gather up 
the proceeds and give them to their preacher." 

The California Conference met at Pairview, sev- 
enty-five miles from Sacramento; thirteen ministers 
were present. He spoke of the mirages which he saw, 
and pronounced them the most perfect optical il- 
lusions he had ever met. He had six hundred miles 
to travel to Philomath, where the Oregon Conference 
was to sit. He went almost one hundred miles by 
railway, and then three hundred by stage. Confer- 
ence was held May 21, and fourteen ministers were 
present. Prom here he went to Walla Walla. The 
Board of Missions had ordered this conference to be 
dissolved; but there were some alienations which 
made it difficult to proceed. The camp-meeting ar- 
ranged for being over, he took the stage for Kelton, 
Utah, some five hundred miles away. He had been 
over the road once before, and the outlook did not 
look pleasing ; but there was no other way. Having 



Third Election as JBishop 



213 



gone thirty-five miles, lie was compelled to wait sev- 
enteen hours, which did not add to his comfort. He 
had planned to reach home by July 25. 

Speaking of Kelton, where he had been delayed so 
long, he says: "It is the hardest place I ever saw, 
and next to the hardest place I ever read of. It 
hardly seems possible that human beings could get as 
low down as they seem here. ... You gave me 
[he says to Kelton] a poor dinner, a wretched supper, 
and a bed that was at least ten inches too short, and 
made me pay three dollars in pure silver for my 
miserable comfort. I wish you no harm, only I trust 
that the miserable vermin, the name of which must 
never be mentioned in polite society, may gather upon 
your carcasses as they did upon mine, and drain your 
life current until they shall raise you from your bed 
for the sixth time. That is the way they served me." 

The Telescope for June 30 reports him at home 
and in good health. The great need of the West he 
found to be more men, consecrated men. The Board 
of Missions is not able to send half as many men as 
should go. He adds this statement: "It does seem 
that when men consent to go West as missionaries, 
many of them do not more than get across the Mis- 
souri River until they are seized with the notion that 
they must make money. The result is, they are di- 
vided in their interests, and are not more than half 
men in the ministry. The ministry is our work. It 
takes a whole man to make a minister." 

He reported for the Ohio District, 1874: Ap- 
pointments, 1,033 ; organized churches, 943 ; mem- 



214 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



bers, 36,687 ; increase during the year, 1,740; total 
collected for all purposes, $233,700.04. For the Pa- 
cific Coast District: Appointments, 110; organized 
churches, 65 ; members, 1,444, an increase of 30 ; col- 
lected for all purposes, $8,469.26. 

He held his fall conferences as usual, and so closed 
another year. The report for the Ohio District for 
the year 1875, rendered some months later, gives this 
result : Appointments, 1,082 ; organized churches, 
939; members, 37,780; increase during year, 1,376; 
collected for all purposes, $216,351.93. 

Early in 1876, he takes up his pen to aid the Tele- 
scope. "Not Yet — By and By," gives him occasion to 
say there will be a by and by, and when He shall ap- 
pear we shall be like him. Next, "As Far as Beth- 
any" ; "Martha" proves to be a defense of this mis- 
understood disciple. "Reflections," an inquiry as to 
what will probably be the first impression upon the 
soul when it passes the boundary line between time 
and eternity. "Thinking — Thought," enforces the 
duty of thinking for ourselves. 

His conferences were held as follows : Miami, at 
Vandalia, July 19 ; Auglaize, at New Philadelphia, 
August 23 ; North Ohio, at DeKalb County, Indiana, 
August 28 ; Erie, at Pleasantville, September 13 ; 
Michigan, at Beach City, September 20; Scioto, at 
Mt. Hermon Church, October 4; White River, at 
West Canaan, October 11. A few Telescope articles, 
such as, "What Next ?" an inquiry as to what we may 
next look for in the effort of the Church to ape the 
follies of the times, and another on "Unity," the 



Third Election as JBishop 



215 



great want of the age, and the year closes. Later, a 
few more communications appear. Parkersburg 
Conference, is held at Backtel Chapel, March 14, 
1S77; Canada, at Preeport, April 19; and another 
General Conference is here. 

Before the close of IS 76, he was in Summit 
County, Ohio, attending a dedication, but did not 
reach the depot in time to take the train south. The 
agent told him to go to Cleveland, and he could reach 
Dayton about as soon. When he reached Cleveland, 
he was informed that he had nine and a half hours to 
wait. "I was not angry, but felt a strange warmth 
in the region of my heart or liver ; perhaps it was 
what they call heart-bum." 

While waiting here, he had time to think of his 
first circuit : "It took in this city and all the region 
round about. It was two hundred miles around, with 
seventeen appointments and twenty-three members, 
all told. I traveled on horseback, for there were no 
railroads, and the roads were too bad for a buggy. 
Some one asks, 'Why in the world did you not re- 
sign V Why, bless you, at that time I did not know 
that a man dare do such a thing. I was silly enough 
to suppose that an itinerant was expected to go wher- 
ever he was sent I was young and hearty, and rather 
liked it, I rather like the old-fashioned itineracy to 
this day. I was broken in at the start, Rev. A. 
Biddle had much to do with my early training as an 
itinerant. Some of these days, when the chariots of 
Israel are sweeping around and about Gallon, the old 
man will get in, and hie away to the home of the pure 
and good." 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

Fourth Election as Bishop — 1877. 

The seventeenth General Conference convened in 
Westfield, Illinois, May 10, 1877. The bishops re- 
ported an increase of members during the quadren- 
nium of 19,223. During this period there came into 
use two words, "radical" and "liberal," which will 
always be associated with the history of the Church. 
Those who were in favor of a less severe law on the 
secrecy question, who favored lay delegation and pro 
rata representation, were denominated by the term 
"liberals," while those who were opposed were char- 
acterized as "radicals." This Conference was a little 
stormy, and, in some particulars, its work was censur- 
able. Nearly every question was reviewed, and often 
settled in the light of its bearing on the secrecy ques- 
tion. A proposition to form a new conference out 
of parts of three others was opposed because it might 
send liberal delegates to the next Conference, and 
the growth of this sort of sentiment must be opposed. 
Pro rata representation was apparently opposed for 
the same reason, though it was a principle which was 
thoroughly American. It was earnestly discussed, 
and finally lost by a vote of forty-five to fifty-four. A 
protest signed by twenty-four delegates, giving their 
reasons for the same, was read, but the request that 
it be placed on the records was refused. 

216 



Fourth Election as Bishop 



217 



The secrecy law had been ambiguous; for eight 
years it had not been satisfactory. It allowed six 
months to all offenders. There were three interpreta- 
tions: Some thought the classes should expel the 
member of a secret organization; others understood 
it was the preacher's duty to declare him out of the 
Church ; and others said it was self -executing. When 
the item, "Duty of the Bishops," was considered, a 
radical brother introduced a resolution instructing the 
bishops, if they found a member of any of their 
conferences who had in any manner failed to enforce 
certain requirements, to at once erase his name. Such 
a requirement seems to us, to-day, little less than 
high-handed tyranny. The proposition was finally 
lost by a vote of thirty-two to seventy-three. 

At this juncture, Bishop Glossbrenner said that 
the conference was acting very inconsistently in 
asking the bishops to do what the conference would 
not do itself. He urged that the body itself pro- 
ceed at once to examine the annual conferences. 
This was a thunderbolt. If this were honestly 
done, it would show that those who were so in- 
tensely radical here, at home were just as apathetic 
and guilty as others. Plans were discussed, the most 
unsatisfactory adopted, and then the farce began. At 
the close, one intense radical brother said he was glad 
to find that "the conferences were all loyal to all the 
laws of the Church," when every man knew they were 
not. It was a fine example of ecclesiastical white- 
washing. 

There were two reports on secrecy, a majority and 



218 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

a minority report. The former did not require or 

allow any action of the class, but when the preacher 
found that a member was connected with a secret so- 
ciety, he should mark him as having left the Church. 
The discussion of these reports was able and inter- 
esting. It would have been well had the full pro- 
ceedings been kept. A brief summary has been pre- 
served. One brother, who has gone to the good world, 
said : "A tremor on the subject of secret societies per- 
vades the whole Church. I never sailed under the flag 
of treason. I have enforced the law on secrecy as 
fairly, probably, as any member upon this floor. I 
have never belonged to any secret society, nor do I 
ever expect to ; but I regard the report now before us, 
and proposed to be ratified and become a law, as the 
most infamous document ever offered to this Church. 
I cannot believe that there are ten of my constituents 
who would, when they thoroughly understood this 
report, reach forth their hands to sign this damnable 
paper. It is now proposed, after the ridiculous, un- 
precedented, and shameful exhibition witnessed on 
this floor yesterday, in the examination of the doings 
of the annual conferences, by which the paralyzed 
condition of the Church upon this question was fully 
shown, to pass this sweeping and unholy law as a 
remedy for this disease. . . . !No one can pos- 
sibly tell where all this will end. I tell you, wo 
have the slipping glaciers of the Alps to climb, and 
no Bonaparte to lead us. We are marching over the 
plains, a vast army, to take a strong city, and we have 
no Hannibal as our guide and leader. We have a 



Fourth Election as Bishop 



219 



Kubicon to cross, and no Julius Caesar among us to 
lead the van. Let us stop and consider." 

Another, who has also left us, said, with earnest- 
ness of his heart: "The length of this law utterly 
condemns it. Why a cart-load of law on a single sub- 
ject ? This proves to the thoughtful that you are not 
sure that your position is just. Why such a long 
apology and such special pleading, if the law is the 
will of God ? I cannot enforce this law and preserve 
my self-respect, and I would sooner die than sacrifice 
that I can locate, and so can others, and you can 
send missionaries back to occupy the churches, if you 
can find any one to preach to. Five hundred congre- 
gations will go out, and while they are too honorable 
to take the property with them, they have paid for 
it, and in equity it is theirs. We can preach in the 
schoolhouses and under the trees. You seek to en- 
force this law, and a hundred doors now open to you 
will be closed in your faces. You will go ragged over 
the bleak prairies and shiver in the storm. I enter 
my protest against this suicidal policy. You have no 
right to transform this Church into an anti-secret so- 
ciety. This is not the Church that Otterbein planted. 
If he were here, he would disown you. I protest, in 
the name of Protestantism and Christian liberty 
against this measure." 

Another brother, who is no longer living, closed an 
earnest protest, as follows: "llr. Chairman, if that 
paper passes, which is altogether likely, it will be 
an occasion of more tears shed over a distracted and 
bleeding church. What folly to pass a law that you 



220 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



know will not be enforced ! You who are clamoring 
for it will not enforce it It will not be enforced in 
our conference. I will be no party to its enforce- 
ment. If that be treason to this Church, make the 
most of it." 

There were earnest talks in its favor, and it finally 
passed by seventy-one to thirty-one votes. A vigor- 
ous protest, signed by twenty-two members, was read, 
but was refused a place in the proceedings by a vote 
of forty-two to twenty-one. 

The bishops took no active part in these discussions, 
and they were excused from voting. There were in- 
timations even here that Bishop Weaver was not satis- 
fied with this policy. It was not quieting the Church 
nor saving the people. Later years show us that even 
at this time he was seeking a better way. He was 
growing towards a belief that there must be a safer 
course of action. 

He was sent to the East Mississippi District, com- 
prising St. Joseph, Upper Wabash, Lower Wabash, 
Central Illinois, Southern Illinois, Illinois, Indiana, 
White Eiver, Michigan, and Saginaw conferences. 

Bishop Weaver had been elected for the fourth time 
by a vote of seventy-six. Glossbrenner received 
eighty-one, Dickson, eighty-two, and Castle, sixty. 

He held White Eiver Conference at Blue Eiver 
Chapel, Indiana, August 15 ; St. Joseph, at Dayton, 
Indiana, August 22 ; Upper Wabash, Marysville, Illi- 
nois, August 29 ; Michigan, at Waterloo, Michigan, 
September 5 ; Central Illinois, at Arrowsmith, Illi- 
nois, September 12 ; Illinois, at Buck's Chapel, Sep- 



Fourth Election as Bishop 



221 



tember 19 ; Lower Wabash, at Center Point, Indiana, 
September 26 ; Indiana, at Dale, Indiana, October 3 ; 
Southern Illinois, at Walnut Grove, October 12. 
These were included in the East Mississippi District. 

When he had nearly completed his round of con- 
ferences he writes : "I have now held eight confer- 
ences ; one more, and I will be through for this round. 
The attendance has been good, and the spirit of love 
and brotherly kindness prevailed. The ministers, for 
the most part, have resolved to enter upon the work 
of the new year with increased energy. No man, I 
care not how learned he may be, will ever succeed in 
winning souls to Christ until he is consecrated to the 
work. . . . Great changes have taken place dur- 
ing the nine years I have been absent from this dis- 
trict. Some have gone to other conferences, some 
have gone to heaven, and others have come to fill their 
places. I have never held so many conferences where 
there was so little complaining about the general man- 
agement of our Church interests." 

Bishop Weaver and Rev. D. K. Flickinger were on 
a boat on the Ohio River, on their way to attend a 
conferenca The boarding was poor, playing cards 
the order of the day, and morals fearfully bad. He 
writes: "I have a good deal of trouble with D. K. 
Flickinger. The water is low, and it requires a great 
deal of working and turning to get along. Half the 
time he does not know whether we are going up or 
down the river. He has an indistinct idea that we 
are going to the Southern Illinois Conference, but is 
not certain whether we will land in Kentucky or Illi- 



222 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



nois. With the eating he can get along well enough. 
You see, he has been to Africa several times, where 
they eat everything, even rats and monkeys ; that is 
why he is fond of rare meat. For my part, if I must 
eat rare meat, I want it fresh from the butcher. This 
lukewarm stuff — away with it ! . . . Four o'clock, 
a. m., and we are landed; it is dark; we are stran- 
gers in a strange land. Find a man up; ask the 
way; miss the road, but at last turn up at a little 
hotel. After an interesting walk of a few miles, we 
reach the place for the holding of the conference." 

The following contributions to the Church paper 
appeared this year : "Progress — Expensive" ; many 
a prayer has gone unanswered because the person 
praying was not willing to pay the price. "With 
Christ in Glory" ; an answer to the query, Why does 
Christ want to have his followers with him ? "Too 
Much Talk" ; men must learn to think more and talk 
less. "The Precious Blood of Jesus"; forms and 
ceremonies are not without their uses, but they can 
never take the place nor answer the end of the blood 
of Christ. "The Church's Mission" — the salvation 
of souls. "Even at Last" ; the rich and the poor are 
alike when death comes. "Growing in Grace"; all 
who are in Christ Jesus must grow in grace. 

At the request of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
the Friends, and the United Brethren societies of 
Dublin, Indiana, on four successive evenings in No- 
vember he delivered four discourses against the doc- 
trine of the ultimate happiness and holiness of all 
men. 



Fourth Flection as Bishop 



223 



His report for the East Mississippi District for 
1877 is as follows : Churches, 989 ; members, 38,049 ; 
increase, 1,040 ; ministers, 529 ; collected for all pur- 
poses, $128,090.51. "On account of the scarcity of 
money in the West, the collections are far below what 
they would be if money were more plenty. But this 
is not the only difficulty. Some men in charge of 
fields of labor would not bring in a full report if 
money were as plenty as the flies were in Egypt 
This is not confined to one conference, but such men 
can be found in almost any conference in the Church. 
It will be a relief to the Church when that class of 
men retires from the field. It requires energy and 
perseverance to succeed in any enterprise, especially 
in the ministry." 

The conferences for 1878 were held as follows: 
White River, at Bethlehem Chapel, August 14 ; Indi- 
ana, at Georgetown, August 21 ; St. Joseph, at North 
Manchester, August 28 ; Michigan, at Gainers, Eirst 
Church, September 4 ; Saginaw, JSTorth Star Church, 
September 11 ; Central Illinois, Decatur, September 
25 ; Southern Illinois, Liberty, Illinois, October 8 ; 
Illinois, Mound Chapel, October 2; Lower Wabash, 
October 9. 

A number of the conferences passed strong resolu- 
tions this year opposing secrecy and against nullifica- 
tion and revolutions. 

He reports for 1878: "Eight hundred and forty- 
nine organized churches; 863 classes; 34,689 mem- 
bers ; ministers, 561 ; collected for all purposes, 
$136,841.57. Many souls were born. The ministers, 



224 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



for the most part, are hard-working men. Depres- 
sion in money matters cut some of the collections 
short." 

The Church was not at rest along some lines. Dr. 
L. Davis, in the Telescope for July 17, 1878, in an 
article, entitled "Rebellion," calls attention to the con- 
dition of the Church : "It is apparent that some of 
our brethren are seeking to overthrow certain forms 
of our Church government by revolution. They 
openly and repeatedly say that the constitution is a 
fraud, and hence it ought not to be respected. These 
brethren have been fairly met and routed in argu- 
ment, and then defeated by a large majority of votes 
in the General Conference; but, no matter, they will 
go on in their lawless course." He advises "that the 
bishops speak out by tongue and pen; and that the 
Telescope stand for law and order ; and that those who 
are willing to stand for the Discipline should often 
meet and counsel together." 

During the year 1879, Bishop Weaver does not ap- 
pear frequently in the paper, as heretofore. We find 
a little tilt with the editor of the Cynosure; an article 
on "The Church's Power," which is in the presence 
of the Holy Spirit, and another, "Go Up Higher," 
calling attention to the truth that most men are con- 
tent to remain too low down, both morally and men- 
tally; "Christian Unity"; "In It, But Not of It"; 
and "We Must Have Revivals" ; the Church was born 
in one. 

The Bishop was in a boat on the Ohio River, seek- 
ing to reach a point in Kentucky ; the boat was late. 



Fourth Election as Bishop 



225 



He writes: "One thing impresses me this morning, 
and that is the uselessness of grumbling. There are 
church grumblers — men who complain and find fault 
with everything and everybody but themselves. Such 
men are not content to pick at, and find fault with 
their fellows ; they even complain of what God does, 
and what he does not do. On board this boat there 
are men who, if they had their own way, would prob- 
ably dethrone the Creator and undertake to rule ac- 
cording to their own notions." 

St. Joseph Conference for 1879 met at Berrien 
Springs, September 3 ; Michigan, JSTorth Castleton, 
September 10 ; Saginaw, Elmhall, September 17 ; 
Upper Wabash, Mt. Zion,' September 24; Illinois, 
Alexis, October 1 ; Central Illinois, Mt. Zion, October 
8 ; Lower Wabash, Vermilion, October 15 ; Southern 
Illinois, Mt. Nebo, October 22. 

Early in 1880, President Allen, of Westfield Col- 
lege, had issued a circular in behalf of the college, 
which was supposed to contain some reflections on the 
conduct of some of its supporters. A presiding elder 
in one of the conferences replied to this circular. 
Bishop Weaver interpreted this reply to reflect on 
him, so he wrote the following statement : "My char- 
acter has been before the Church for forty years. ~No 
man, dead or alive, has ever heard me say one word 
in favor of secret societies. I have written, spoken, 
and preached against them. I have never, to my 
knowledge, received into the Church a member of a 
secret society. I have more than once refused to re- 
ceive persons as members, even after they had come 

15 



226 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



forward, simply because they could not answer the 
third question directly. I have faithfully executed 
every law we ever had on the subject of secret socie- 
ties. Xever a case that came under my jurisdiction 
has passed by my consent. I have more than once 
refused to proceed with the business of a conference 
until they had executed the law in cases where it had 
been violated.'" 

He proceeds to say that he had never joined any 
outside association, believing that in the Church he 
could do and say all he wanted against any form of 
evil. He then speaks of his anxiety : "Tor more than 
ten years I have witnessed with deep concern a grow- 
ing restlessness in the Church. Men of long stand- 
ing in our denomination have changed their views, not 
so much in regard to secrecy itself, as in reference to 
the manner of dealing with it. Without attempting 
to conceal or exaggerate the matter, the fact is before 
us that there are two parties in the Church. Another 
fact is, that there is danger of a rupture. I have 
heard men on both sides of this question say, 'Let it 
come: we are ready.' I do not feel thus: we are not 
ready. There is too much at stake. Those who re- 
main near at home, whose duties do not require them 
to travel throughout- the whole Church, do not, and 
cannot know the extent of this restlessness. To pre- 
vent what I most dread. I have counseled moderation 
on both sides. President Allen got a glimpse of this 
want of harmony during the sitting of the last Gen- 
eral Conference, and was not slow in offering his com- 
promise. The United Brethren Church has a grand 



Fourth Election as Bishop 



227 



field open before it. It has a record on moral reform 
of which it need, not be ashamed. We want harmony. 
In my opinion, harsh, unkind, and uncharitable words 
and thrusts from either party are unwise, and tend to 
separate them more and more. 

"The last night I spent with our lamented Bishop 
Edwards, he talked freely and with deep concern 
about the future of the Church. He knew as much 
about the Church as any man in it, and had as deep 
an interest in its welfare as any man ever had. He 
was a pure-minded, noble man of God. He saw, or 
thought he saw, the very danger I have herein ex- 
pressed: and, like a true friend of the Church, he 
was anxiously looking around to see if there was not 
an honorable way out of this trouble. He concluded 
by saying. 'The Lord reigns, and will lead us out of 
this difficulty j if we will but trust him.' So I believe ; 
but harsh, unkind thrusts through the Telescope will 
never bring harmony and peace, but will tend to 
alienate feeling and destroy confidence. I dictate to 
no one ; I impugn no man's motives, for we must all 
appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. Each 
must answer for himself. If counseling men on both 
sides of this vexed question to be moderate; if oppos- 
ing harsh, unkind words : and if trying to secure har- 
mony throughout the Church are crimes, then verily 
I am guilty/" 

September 5. IS SO. from Xorth Star, Michigan, 
he writes a personal letter to the editor of the Tele- 
■scope, from which we make the following extract: 

"This is my fifth conference this fall, and I am 



228 



JJiography of Jo7iathan Weaver 



glad to be able to say that the Master is with us all 
the time. The sessions thus far have been very pleas- 
ant. There appears to be an earnest desire, with a 
settled determination upon the part of nearly all the 
members of the conference, to go up higher in Chris- 
tian experience. With a hearty good will they often 
unite in singing, Nearer, my God, to thee.' There 
have been frequent baptisms of the Holy Ghost, such 
as I have seldom witnessed during conference sessions. 
My brother, there is a divine fullness in gospel salva- 
tion. If any man should doubt this, let him turn to 
Ephesians 3 : 18-20. In these verses, Paul talks of 
the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of 
Christ, and all the fullness of God. This is wonder- 
ful — yes, it is wonderful, glorious, and gloriously 
wonderful; but it is just that state into which the 
Holy Ghost will lead us all who will trustingly con- 
secrate our all to Christ. It is a present, full salvation, 
complete in all. There is nothing that so well quali- 
fies ministers for conference work as the baptism of 
the Holy Ghost It sweetens their dispositions, makes 
them firm and bold, yet humble. Where this grace 
abounds, every interest of the Church will be looked 
after. The fathers of the United Brethren Church 
started out with the consciousness that a vital union 
with Christ is essential to a life of godliness. From 
this central idea we cannot afford to be divorced. We 
must hold to it, not simply because the fathers taught 
it, but because Jesus taught it. . . . Thus far 
the sessions of the conference have been characterized 
with the spirit of brotherly kindness. There has been 



Fourth Election as .Bishop 



229 



an encouraging increase in all the interests of the 
Church. Ify own health is comparatively good. 
With plenty to do, plenty to eat, sound sleep, and the 
help of the Spirit, the work goes on smoothly." 

He was holding a conference in the vicinity of 
Springfield, Illinois, and, in response to the editor of 
the Telescope for a letter, he wrote him privately, 
saying : "For two reasons I cannot write : The first 
is, I do not have time. I am giving all my time and 
energies to my conference, trying to help them in 
every department of work. The second, and main 
reason is, that I have had the ague. I had an awful 
hard twist with it some two weeks ago, and am not 
over it yet. Did you ever have the ague % I do not 
mean the chills, but the regular old-fashioned, blue- 
stocking kind ? First, I was in Greenland, among the 
everlasting mountains of snow, shaking for all that 
was out. Doctors say a well-developed man has two 
hundred and forty-four bones in his body. Just 
imagine, if you can, that all these bones are aching 
at each end and also in the middle. That will make 
seven hundred and thirty-two aches, all going on at 
one time. But that is not the real ague, only an inci- 
dent connected therewith. From Greenland's icy 
mountains I was carried to the center of the torrid 
zone in about forty-five minutes — hot, hotter, hottest. 
But this was only another little incident connected 
with the ague. Add all these little incidents together, 
and drop in here and there all the mean and un- 
earthly sensations that you can think of, and you have 
a faint idea of what the ague is. 



230 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



"But I did not have the ague, I deny the charge. 
I was a little like a man of whom I once heard, who 
had resolved that on a certain evening he would steal 
his neighbor's calf. But his neighbor found out his 
purpose, and, having a pet bear, removed the calf and 
tied the bear in its place. The evening came, and so 
did the man, and brought a friend with him to help 
carry the calf home. Arriving at the barn, he crept 
cautiously to the place and took hold of the supposed 
calf. Presently his accomplice, who remained at the 
door, heard quite a scuffle going on, and, in a loud 
whisper, said, 'Have you got the calf V '"No, 9 was the 
curt reply, 'but the calf has got me.' This is exactly 
my case. The ague has got me. I was all alone at 
my little room at the hotel, and it was very interest- 
ing." 

He held the Southern Illinois Conference in Oc- 
tober, 1880, and spoke very pleasantly of the out- 
look. The ministers had gone to the fields of labor 
with a fixed purpose to do better work than before. 
Concerning this feeling, he says: "I am more than 
ever convinced that our want of success in winning 
souls to Christ is owing mainly to our want of conse- 
cration to the ministry. A man whose whole heart 
is not given to this one work will not likely succeed. 
Paul said, concerning himself and colaborers, 'We 
will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the 
ministry of the word.* Herein rests the true power 
of the minister of J esus. ~No wonder Paul and those 
with him succeeded." 

Two days after this conference, he started for 



Fourth Election as Bishop 



231 



Sedan, two hundred miles southwest of Kansas City, 
to dedicate a church. When he reached St. Louis, 
everything was astir. "The railroad companies were 
on a bender, cutting the fare down to almost nothing, 
and the result was, that almost everybody, from the 
short-limbed Dutchman to the long, gaunt, gangling 
Yankee, seemed bent on going somewhere, no matter 
where, or whether they had any business abroad ; they 
must go on that very next train or die. Elbowing 
my way through the crowd, I got within some dis- 
tance of the ticket office, and, looking over the heads 
of all the rest, I inquired the fare to Kansas City. 
'Eight dollars and fifty cents,' was the answer. I did 
not invest 'to wonst.' Having a little leisure, I 
looked about, and finally bought a ticket for one dol- 
lar. Three hundred miles for one dollar — cheap 
enough. After I had my ticket, I just thought, if 
railroad companies wanted to cut, they could cut 
away for all of me. I take things just as they come. 
When the price is up, I have to pay it, and when it 
is down, I do the same." 

After an all-day's ride, he reached Independence, 
where he was entertained by Rev. E. J. Evans, one of 
the presiding elders of Osage Conference. He was 
one of the pioneers of Southern Kansas. "The dis- 
trict is large, requiring a great amount of travel ; and, 
although he is over sixty years of age, he thinks noth- 
ing of going one hundred miles on horseback. He is 
even now holding himself ready, at the bidding of 
the Board of Missions, to go further south or west 
and commence a new mission." Twenty miles by 



232 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



stage, and he reached the house of Eev. J. C. Ross, 
where he tarried for the night, and the next morning 
was taken by him twenty miles further to Sedan. 
There was a small membership here, who had built 
a little church, and needed $500 to pay for it. After 
an earnest effort, he secured the money. He left the 
next morning at three o'clock for the railroad, which 
was reached, in three hours, and, after a steady ride- 
on that for forty-two hours, he reached his home in 
Dayton, a distance of nine hundred miles. In his 
record of the trip, he says : "If I were a young man 
seeking a home, I would go to Kansas. If I were a 
young preacher, and willing to make some sacrifice 
for Christ and his cause, and had no field of labor 
here, I would go to Kansas. It is a poor place for 
drones, however." 

Some of Bishop Weaver's most interesting articles 
were written at depots, waiting for trains. In this 
manner he helped to pass away the otherwise weary 
hours. At such times he always tried to rind the 
brighter side. Here is a specimen, entitled "Saturday 
Evening 7 ' : "It is now Saturday evening. Xovember 
13. IS SO. There can be no mistake, for I saw it in 
the almanac. I am here at Elmwood, Indiana, on my 
way to dedicate a church, somewhere in the country. 
I had to change cars here, and was told I must wait ' 
four hours and fifteen minutes. I sat and wrote and 
read for about three hours. Just then the agent poked 
his head through the ticket-hole. and. in a provokingly 
cool- manner, said, f !Mister, your train will be late.' 
Astonished, I arose to my feet, and said. 'How much V 



Fourth Election as Hishop 



233 



'I cannot tell, exactly, but I should think about six 
hours.' Bless my life ! it is now 6 p. m., and that will 
make it midnight. I will get to Frankfort about 
2 a. m., and then ride several miles in a private con- 
veyance. I will be in a lovely condition to talk to 
the people, and I think I will feel eloquent. Think 
of it! ten mortal hours lingering around with noth- 
ing to do but wait on a belated train. 

"But if we will keep our eyes and ears open, we 
may learn something despite our unfavorable sur- 
roundings. While eating supper at the hotel, I heard 
with my own ears some young people talking of a 
chewing-gum party to come off the next week. I 
never before heard of such a thing. I would like to 
look in on that party when they get everything in 
operation. I do not know how they would proceed, 
but we shall suppose that twenty or thirty persons are 
seated in a room ; at the tap of the bell the waiter en- 
ters with the gum ; each takes a piece, according to 
the dimensions of his or her mouth. When all is 
ready, the master of ceremonies gives the word of 
command, and every mouth goes off at once. For a 
given time-, say two hours and a half, they sit and 
chew with a relish. I do not know whether they sit 
facing each other or not. Being a stranger in the 
place, I did not wish to expose my ignorance by ask- 
ing questions. For anything I know to the contrary, 
they might change cuds from one mouth to the other. 
This would add interest to the occasion, especially if 
some used tobacco or had decayed teeth. . . . 
Only four hours more, and the train may be here. I 



234 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



say it may be here. ISTobody can tell sure and certain 
when a belated train will arriva . . . Later : I 
did not have to wait the full ten honrs. A freight 
train came along, and, by special arrangements, I 
shipped as freight, and saved one hour." 

From a touching article written at the close of the 
year, entitled "All Is Quiet Beyond," we make the 
following extract : "Millions have gone from us, and 
they are still going at the rate of 3,600 every hour. 
Of all who have gone from us, not one has returned 
to tell us how it is over there. To us, all is quiet be- 
yond. And yet, there are questions that awaken deep 
solicitude. What will be the first impressions of the 
soul as it passes the boundary lines between time and 
eternity ? We must remember the soul will lose none 
of its consciousness in the passage through the shad- 
owy regions of death. . . . What will be the first 
impressions upon the soul as a legion of angels passes 
in review before it % Here, we have not had so much 
as a glimpse of an angel, but the soul having passed 
the boundary line to them, the angels pure and spot- 
less come trooping down to give it a grand welcome. 
. . . What will be the first impressions upon the 
soul when it is brought into the presence of the Lord 
J esus ? There, he is a real person. Memory will not 
be dethroned. The soul will not have forgotten how, 
by faith, it clung to him amid the smoke and dust of 
life's battle. Gethsemane, Calvary, and Joseph's new 
tomb will come thronging back upon the memory. 
Here I am at home, saved through the blood of him 
before whom I stand, and here I am to remain for- 
ever." 



CHAPTER XIV. 



His Fifth Election as Bishop — 1881. 

The eighteenth General Conference convened in 
Lisbon, Iowa, May 12, 1881. -Forty-five conferences 
were represented by one hundred and twenty-six dele- 
gates. A number of petitions came before the Con- 
ference concerning the secrecy question, pro rata 
representation, and other questions of interest. The 
report on pro rata representation of the annual confer- 
ences in the General Conference was submitted, em- 
bodying this change in a modified form. This was 
earnestly discussed, some urging that territory was to 
be represented ; and others, ideas and principles ; 
while others insisted on membership as the basis. 
Underlying the whole discussion, and cropping out 
here and there, seemed to be the inevitable secrecy 
question. It appeared to be assumed on both sides 
that an increased representation to the conference 
having the largest membership would lead to an in- 
creased representation on the part of those who de- 
sired a modification of our secrecy law. The report 
was finally adopted by a vote of sixty yeas and fifty- 
seven nays, one absent, and two excused from voting. 
By a previous vote, the bishops were all excused. 
Bishop Kephart, who voted in the affirmative, was, at 
this session, elected bishop, and was understood to be 
in sympathy with the aggressive minority. 

"^235 



236 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

It was very evident to one familiar with our pre- 
vious history, that dissatisfaction with the manner of 
dealing with the secrecy question was growing 
stronger. The number of those who wanted a change 
was increasing. The bishops themselves had been 
divided in opinion when they came to interpret the 
meaning of two-thirds. Where there was opposition 
to the law, it was not enforced. Where the sentiment 
of the conference was not in sympathy with it, the 
traveling preachers were not held to a rigid account. 
They claimed they did the best they could. It was 
asserted that even those who claimed to be more rad- 
ical and more consistent did no better than the others. 
If they did, they only divided the Church and made 
enemies for it, instead of friends. Some measures 
must sooner or later be found to reconcile these dis- 
cordant elements, or the Church would not do her 
work. 

Bishop Weaver met his conferences in the North- 
west District at the times appointed. When the year 
closed, he made this report of his work: "The dis- 
tricts having been changed at the last General Con- 
ference, I have no means at hand by which I can 
compare the past with the present year. Some of the 
interests of the Church seem to have been advanced, 
and others not Some of the members are hard-work- 
ing, earnest men ; but a good many lack consecration 
to the work of soul-saving. I state it plainly, but- 
kindly, that a good many who ask for, and obtain 
fields of labor ought to seek a fresh baptism of the 
Holy Spirit, or retire from the field. We have on 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



237 



this district some two hundred and fifty itinerants at 
work, and over two hundred local ministers. There 
are scores of quarterly conference preachers and over 
five thousand Sunday-school teachers; and when we 
sum up the result of the year's work, we have an in- 
crease in membership of seven hundred. Beloved 
brethren and fellow-workers in the Master's vineyard, 
we must arise and go forward." 

About this time, with these thoughts in mind, he 
writes an article for the Telescope on "The Church's 
Greatest Xeed," from which we make the following 
extract : "What power for good has a formal church \ 
The house of worship may be beautiful, the pastor 
may be thoroughly educated and accomplished, the 
singing may be of the highest order, but what of it \ 
They have power to please, but no power to lead men 
and women to Christ. The church at Laodicea felt 
rich; they did not think they needed anything, but 
they were in a most wretched condition. They had 
all the forms of religion, but they were destitute of 
the quickening power of the Holy Spirit. Yet they 
were as well off as many of our congregations to-day. 
They had lost all power to lead perishing souls to the 
Water of Lifa The same is true of many of our 
congregations at present. The greatest need, there- 
fore, of the church to-day is a mighty baptism of the 
Holy Spirit. I know full well that, to what some 
people call the refined ear, this sounds a little old- 
fashioned, but to those who are under the quickening 
power of this divine agent, it is in perfect harmony 
with their heart's experience. To receive this much- 



238 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



needed power, we must make a full and complete con- 
secration of all we Lave and are to God. The gift 
will not be accepted until it is on the altar." 

In the month of January, 1881, he writes an ear- 
nest plea for soul-saving. He shows that this is the 
special work of the minister. This has been a pas- 
sion with the best and most successful preachers. It 
takes earnest, persevering work to win souls to Christ 
"There are men called of God to go out and work for 
the salvation of souls who seem not to care whether 
they are saved or not I would not be uncharitable 
toward any man, but when men come to conference 
year after year, and scarcely report one soul won to 
Christ, and almost every interest of the Church neg- 
lected, I must conclude that there is no love for per- 
ishing souls in their hearts. Good, earnest men will 
sometimes fail, but not always ; nor will they neglect 
the interests of the Church committed to their care. 
In the matter of saving souls, the past year has not 
been equal to former years. I need not speculate on 
the probable cause. I only know this, that if the two 
thousand ministers in this Church were wholly con- 
secrated to the great work of soul-saving, it would 
show different results. I insist upon it, we must have 
the baptism of the Holy Spirit" 

From his home at Lisbon, Iowa, December, 1881, 
he sends out the following letter to every minister in 
the Xorthwest District : 

"My Dear Brother : Permit me, as your fellow- 
laborer in the patience and kingdom of our Lord, to 
call your attention to the following: 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



239 



"1. Ministerial Character. Isaiah 52 : 11 ; Acts 
11 : 24; II. Timothy 1: 9 ; I. Peter 1: 15; IL Tim- 
othy 2 : 15 ; 4 : 1-5. These passages teach us what we 
must be if we would succeed in winning souls to 
Christ. 

"2. Ministerial Work. Acts 6:4; Proverbs 10: 
1-5; Daniel 1:2, 3; Psalm 126:5, 6. These, and 
many similar passages, teach us these three facts: 
(1) Soul-saving is the first great work of a Christian 
minister. (2) Souls won to Christ must be carefully 
and tenderly cared for; they must be led and fed. 
(3) The faithful laborer shall receive his reward. 

"3. We must have revivals. If souls are not won 
to Christ, and finally saved in heaven, through your 
instrumentality, the work will be a failure. To seek 
and to save the lost, the Son of man came into the 
world. For this he suffered and died on the cross. 
For this he was buried and rose again. For this he 
ever liveth to make intercession. Por this he called 
you into the ministry. Eemember, my brother, that 
all heaven is in sympathy with your work, and the 
angels are ready to rejoice with you when souls are 
saved. Oh, for the burning zeal of the Lord's 
prophet ! (Isaiah 62 : 1.) Because the work of soul- 
saving is great and difficult, the Master said, 'Lo, I 
am with you alway.' We must have the enduement 
of the Holy Spirit, and the abiding presence of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, With these, we can succeed. 

"4. Carefully and prayerfully study the what and 
the how; that is, what to say and how to say it; also, 
what to do and how to do it. 'He that winneth souls 



MO Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



is wise/ Any minister, in order to succeed, must be 
an organizer; that is, he must carefully study how 
to utilize all the forces there are in and around him. 
If he would lead to victory, he must, as far as pos- 
sible, find something for every one to do. 

"5. Be careful, my brethren, to look after every 
interest committed to your care. Let us have one 
faithful, earnest year's work for Christ and the 
Church. For your own benefit, read Section X. of 
our Discipline. Let us pray night and day for the 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We must have re- 
vivals. Your brother in Christ, 

"J. Weaver." 

These are faithful words, and just as precious to- 
day as they were then. 

He had arrangements made to go East and dedi- 
cate a church. It rained on the way there, and on 
Sunday. He had a good congregation, however, and 
raised $1,400, and dedicated the church. Part of the 
time he was annoyed with the toothache : "!N"ot a lit- 
tle grumbling among the grinders, but the regular 
old-fashioned jumping, pounding, kicking, everlast- 
ing, indescribable toothache. It commenced on Sat- 
urday, and kept it up all day. I had to soothe it by 
using cold water, red-hot liniment, and everything I 
could think of, but it went tearing on as if the per- 
petuity of the universe depended upon the amount of 
aching that particular tooth could get in by the hour. 
Finally, feeling brave and resolute, I entered the 
dentist's office. He looked at it, and said he could do 
nothing for it only to take it out. I was in a tight 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



241 



place. I told him I did not want to spare it, for fear 
I would lisp. He grinned, and said he did not think 
I would lisp much. I said I could not spare it, and 
that I might call back in the morning. I did not say 
for certain. I only said, maybe I might. I could 
not run the risk of lisping, so I did not go back. I 
have that one particular tooth yet. If a man think 
of himself a little more highly than he ought, just let 
one of his teeth get on a bender, and if he don't forget 
everything on earth and under the earth but that one 
particular tooth, then he is a hopeless case. Then 
I know of nothing in all the range of human thought 
that will try a man's patience more than the old- 
fashioned toothache. I have tried it, and know that 
my patience has been worn so thin that if a dog 
barked at me I was insulted." 

He visited Colorado Mission District about this 
time, to look after the interests of the Church. He 
was at Loveland Mission, and dedicated a church. 
"After this dedication, in company with Eev. Mr. 
McCormick and wife, I started across the plains for 
Denver, a distance of forty miles. It was a grand 
ride, but I am a little like the man who ate the crow ; 
when asked if he could eat another, he thought he 
could, but he had no particular hankering after it. 
Those who want to take such rides, and think they 
cannot live without them, can, by paying a small sum, 
have my place hereafter, henceforth, and forever 
more. We reached Denver in good time, and by the 
next morning I was all right again. 

"From one cause and another, the Church has not 

16 



242 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



advanced in Colorado as it should have done. It has 
not been for want of talent in the ministry, for, in 
proportion to their members, there is not a more tal- 
ented class of ministers in any conference in our 
Church. Two things have hindered their progress — 
want of harmony and consecration. This is a hard 
field to cultivate, and it requires faithful, earnest 
work to win souls to Christ. A Methodist minister 
told me he had been preaching some two hundred 
miles from the city, and found a number of United 
Brethren. He had eaten at their tables and had slept 
in their beds. They told him they thought well of 
the Methodists, but better of the United Brethren. 
They were waiting in hope that some minister of the 
United Brethren Church would visit them. Those 
in Colorado cannot reach them, for they have not 
time. I insist, it takes grit and grace to succeed in 
Colorado" {Telescope, July 12, 1882). 

April 21, 1882, he met some of the ministers at 
Blair, Washington County, Nebraska, and organized 
what was called the "Elkhorn Conference." There 
were eleven fields, mostly missions, and frontier min- 
isters united in the organization. The territory was 
good, and to the bishop the outlook was hopeful, espe- 
cially if they would carefully guard some points 
which he named to them, such as: "The reception 
of men into the conference who could not be useful in 
their own conferences, and men of like character from 
other churches; also, men in their own midst who 
are too old ever to pass the course of reading. It is 
time quarterly conferences should cease to recom- 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



243 



mend to the annual conferences men who can but 
poorly represent the Church as preachers. I advise 
all our conferences, and especially our mission con- 
ferences, to raise the standard of ministerial qualifi- 
cation. Another thing to be guarded against is party 
spirit; nothing will ruin a conference more quickly 
than this. Some men seem to think that God has 
called them to be leaders; they will work with all 
their might to be elected presiding elders, and if not 
elected, they will not work at all. The desire for 
office is often the first step to conspiracy. Parties 
are formed, jealousies are cherished, and then away 
goes the peace and harmony of the conference. I saw 
none of this spirit in the Elkhorn Conference, but I 
have seen it elsewhere, and I refer to it as a warning 
for the future." 

While residing at Lisbon, Iowa, some of the ladies 
of the United Brethren Church took it into their 
heads to present Bishop Weaver with a set of Cham- 
bers' Encyclopedia. So they put their mites to- 
gether, and found they had enough and to spare ; and 
they added a handsomely bound copy of Ralston' s 
"Elements of Divinity" to the collection. They sent 
Rev. J. S. Smith to the bishop's residence to make 
the presentation. Through the city papers, the 
bishop replied : "Will you permit me to say to some- 
bodies in and about Lisbon that I am ever so much 
obliged for the presentation of a complete set of 
Chambers' Encyclopedia and Ralston' s 'Elements of 
Divinity.' It was on this wise: I was sitting at 
home the other evening, and Rev. Mr. Smith called 



244 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



at my home and presented me with the books. He 
said it was a slight token of respect from one and 
another. Well, I could see the token as clear as a 
sunbeam, but I have not jet been able to see where 
the slight comes in. If this is the way they slight 
people out West, I will send for all my friends to 
come West 'to wonst.' " 

In an article showing the great danger of being 
"nearly saved/' he told this story concerning him- 
self: a Some time since, I started on a short tour 
eastward. All went well, and I reached Chicago in 
due time, and had a little over an hour to go from 
one depot to another — about a mile. I made the dis- 
tance in twenty minutes. I wanted to see a rail- 
road official, and, to my horror, learned that his office 
was seven squares away. Nothing daunted, I struck 
out between a trot and a run, and made the distance 
in twelve minutes, but the official was not in. I 
waited, and every minute seemed five, but at last he 
came. My business was soon done> and I said, 'I 
must make that train/ 'Can't do it/ was his curt 
reply; but I went out bent on making the train. It 
was early morning, and everybody seemed to be on 
the street going somewhere. I pushed through and 
around the crowd, sometimes on the curbstone, once 
in the gutter, (all straight, though,) but on I went, 
bound to make that one particular train. A boy, just 
behind me, yelled out, 'Go it, dad!' — the miserable 
little rascal ! I had no time to stop, else I would have 
turned around and looked at him. This was my first 
insult On I went three squares. I saw a street-car 



Fifth Flection as Bishop 



245 



going my way, hailed it, and got in. It seemed to me 
I did not Lave more than an inch of breath in my 
body. I told the conductor I wanted to make that 
train. He looked down upon me, — for I was sitting, 
— and, with one of those broad, don't-care sort of 
grins, quietly said, '1 guess you will come very nearly 
making it' That was the second insult After all 
that running and fussing, to be told that I would very 
nearly succeed ! What comfort could that be ? If I 
failed, I might just as well be ten hours behind. I 
did not quarrel with him, for I had no breath to 
spare. I was just about tuckered out. But I did 
succeed. I reached the train, and had all of a half 
a minute to spare. After I was seated, and had re- 
covered some of my lost breath, I thought that if I 
could have had that miserable boy who yelled at me, 
and that cold-hearted street-car conductor in a cor- 
ner, somewhere, I should most likely have told them 
that I trembled at the mere suggestion of what this 
world might have been if the Lord had forgotten to 
make them. Moral: If you stop to fuss with every 
one whom you imagine intends to insult you, and look 
cross at every boy who yells at you, you will get in 
too late." 

Late in the fall, he furnished the Telescope with 
an interesting article on "Our Need," in which he 
pleaded for charity and sweetness of spirit, from 
which we make an extract : "We have been passing 
through a long struggle on the secrecy question. Much 
has been said and done on both sides. Many things 
have been said and done that were not in harmony 



246 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



with the mood and spirit of Christ. My advice to 
all would be this: Stand firmly by the long-estab- 
lished principles of this Church. If our present 
method of dealing with this great evil is not what it 
should be, the Lord will show us a better way in due 
time. If ever I believed anything in my life, I be- 
lieve this, that the Lord will lead us out of this diffi- 
culty, if we will let him. I suggest that we hold an 
election at the throne of grace for a leader, and all 
vote their affections, heart, and will to the Son of 
Mary. Then let us all fall in line, and follow where 
he leads. He will lead us to certain victory. Eash 
words and rash acts will never lead to peace and har- 
mony. We have too little faith in God, and too much 
confidence in our own opinions. We sometimes speak 
and act as though we believed it were impossible for 
us to be mistaken. We forget that great and good 
men do sometimes make mistakes. A man may be 
sound in principles and wrong in method. Concern- 
ing any matter not clearly defined in the Word of 
God, we may be mistaken. It is always right to go 
to God and ask for wisdom. It seems to me that any 
method, however wise it may seem to be, which does 
not aim at the salvation of the soul is not of God." 

His conferences this year — 1882 — were held as fol- 
lows : April 4, Elkhorn Mission District, Blair, Ne- 
braska ; June 22, Colorado, Denver, Colorado, First 
Church; August 23, St. Joseph, Manchester, Indi- 
ana; August 30, Michigan, West Odessa, Michigan; 
September 6, North Michigan, Salt Eiver, Michi- 
gan; September 13, Upper Wabash, Veedersburg, 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



247 



Indiana; September 20, Rock River, Adeline, Illi- 
nois; September 29, Fox River, Spring Lake, Wis- 
consin; October 4, Wisconsin, Rutland, Wisconsin; 
October 11, Minnesota, Eyota, Minnesota; October 
19, Dakota, Pleasant Valley, Iowa; October 25, Iowa, 
Toledo, Iowa ; November 1, West Des Moines, Davis 
City, Iowa ; November 8, West Nebraska, Lone Tree, 
Nebraska. 

In his report for the Northwest District for 1881, 
he says: "I have been permitted to complete my 
round of conferences in twelve weeks. Excepting a 
few days, I enjoyed good health. The sessions were 
generally very pleasant, some of them unusually so. 
The greatest apparent need is a more complete conse- 
cration to the one great work of soul-saving. Some 
of the ministers realize this, and are earnestly seek- 
ing for a baptism of the Holy Spirit. If all would 
realize it as they should, very much more would be ac- 
complished. Strange that all do not realize the true 
nature of the work ! It is spiritual, a combat between 
light and darkness. A soul lost in sin can be reached 
only by the agency of the Holy Spirit. A minister 
may smite with his fist, stamp with his foot, or raise 
his voice until he may be heard for half a mile, but 
without the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, the 
souls of the people will still sleep on. It is the power 
of God that wakens the dead. The Spirit-power will 
come to the pulpit whenever the minister makes a 
full and complete consecration to God, and not till 
then. To expect this God-power before we receive 
the baptism of the Holy Spirit, is to expect the effect 



248 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



to go before the cause. It is clearly taught that we 
shall receive the power after the Holy Spirit has 
come." 

In nearly every circumstance he can find something 
"to point a moral or adorn a tale." He is constantly 
on the lookout for some incident, illustration, or 
event, that will illustrate some phase of life, and he 
usually finds it. The man who is looking towards 
the heavens is the man who sees the stars. Bishop 
Weaver was always full of such events, and scarcely 
anything came up in conversation that did not re- 
mind him of something else. While sitting in the 
depot waiting for a train, he found the following, 
which, doubtless, put inspiration into some one who 
read it: "Just now four or five heavy trains from 
the East have pulled out of the spacious transfer 
depot at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and the depot police- 
man is yelling at the top of his voice to the crowd, 
'Hurry up! Keep moving V Just see how they 
crowd along — men, women, and children, hundreds of 
them, jostling against each other; some with grip- 
sacks, and some with bundles larger than themselves, 
all bent on going somewhere ; strangers from almost 
everywhere, elbowing their way through the crowd. 
Who are they, and where are they going? I do not 
know; but noticing that each has some sort of nose, 
mouth, eyes, ears, hands, and feet, and that all walk 
upright and face forward, I conclude that they all 
belong to the same race, and are going to some place, 
but where I know not. All doubtless have aims, 
hopes, and fears, but what their thoughts are I can- 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



249 



not imagine, for some think in Dutch, some in Irish, 
and some in — dear knows what ! but all are thinking, 
just because they cannot help it." 

And now comes the application of all this, for the 
author always writes with a purpose in view: 
"Preachers who want to succeed must keep moving on 
and up continually. This is high noonday. Light is 
pouring in from every nook and corner. These are 
the brightest and clearest days this world has known 
since Adam sinned, and yet the chronic grumbler 
goes whining along wishing for the days of his fa- 
thers. If it were not wicked, I could wish that he 
might wake up some morning and find himself just 
fifty years behind the times. 

"Keep moving ; do something ; take hold anywhere 
and lift, not only until you see stars, but until you see 
beyond the stars. Every department of Church work 
is suffering for want of earnest workers. We have 
too many drowsy preachers, lazy educators, and cold- 
hearted men and women in the Church. If you can 
do nothing better, then, for mercy's sake, get out of 
the way; get down into some comer and watch the 
multitude ; but look out for your toes, for of necessity 
the passing crowd must step somewhere. But my 
time is up ; the train is ready, and I must be moving 
or I will be left." 

In opening the Michigan Conference, August 29, 
1883, held at Salem Church, in Allegan County, 
Michigan, he alluded to the changes which had been 
wrought in the eighteen years that had elapsed since 
he first met the conference, and said that no member 



250 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

of the conference should expect to work eighteen 
years more, but make the best possible use of the pres- 
ent hour. This was wisely and well said. How many 
who flatter themselves in the opportunities of the fu- 
ture allow the present hours to pass unimproved ! 

His conferences this season were held as follows: 
St. Joseph, August 22, at Lafayette, Indiana ; Michi- 
gan, at Salem Church, Allegan County, Michigan; 
North Michigan, September 5, at Lebanon, Michi- 
gan; Eock River, September 19, at Vanorin, Illinois; 
Fox River, September 28, at Eden, Wisconsin; Wis- 
consin, October 4, at Pleasant Valley Church, Wis- 
consin; Dakota, October 19, at Milltown, Dakota; 
Iowa, October 24, at Lisbon, Iowa; Minnesota, at 
Cordova, Minnesota; West Des Moines, October 31, 
at Scranton, Iowa ; West Nebraska, at Union Chapel, 
Adams County, Nebraska. 

Before beginning the fall work, and perhaps with 
a thought of turning the minds of the preachers to 
their great work, an article on "Divine Help" ap- 
peared in the Telescope, from which we make this 
extract : 

"The greatest and most difficult work on earth is to 
win a soul for Christ. It seems to me that if all the 
ministers in our land were under the immediate di- 
vine direction, scores of precious souls would be saved 
where one is now. Can it be that God will call 
men into the field and permit them to work for years 
under his direction and with his help, and no souls be 
saved? There seems to be a want of heart-earnest- 
ness in the pulpit and out of the' pulpit. So many 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



251 



are holding the ministry as a kind of profession ; they 
follow preaching somewhat as a mechanic follows his 
trade ; they are sound in doctrine and orderly in their 
walk, but souls are not born to Christ through their 
instrumentality. Every one should ask, on his knees 
before God, why this is so. The pulpit of to-day does 
not fail in the presentation of the truth, pure and 
simple, but in reaching the hearts of the people with 
the truth. This can be done only by the power of the 
Holy Spirit. We must have this, or our work will 
not succeed. How can a minister content himself 
with preaching day in and day out, week in and week 
out, and no souls won to Christ ? In the end of the 
harvest, he will come from the field, but where are 
the sheaves ?" 

While waiting at a station, in Wisconsin, for a 
train to carry him to his next conference, possibly 
Fox Eiver, he is inspired to write another letter to 
the Telescope,, from which we take the following ex- 
tract: "In passing from one conference to another, 
I notice that some men succeed better than others. 
The successful men are not always the most talented. 
Some men succeed almost anywhere, and others 
hardly succeed at all. My conclusion is, that, as a 
rule, the chief difference lies in the differences of 
their consecration to the work. I am satisfied some 
men do not feel the awful responsibility of their 
work. By this consecration, I mean one whose whole 
soul, body, time, talents, influence, reputation, prop- 
erty, and family are devoted to the one grand work 
of saving souls to Christ ; less than this on the human 



252 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

side will not suffice. When all this is laid upon the 
altar, God can, and will accept the offering, and be- 
stow special power. I am tired of these ragged re- 
ports at conference. Eot a few of them report dur- 
ing twelve months not one soul won to Christ, and 
half the interests of the Church neglected. How 
long would it take such men to win the world to 
Christ?" 

Minnesota Conference met in October ; it had en- 
rolled seventeen itinerants and twelve hundred and 
six members. In behalf of this conference, he writes 
from some railroad train : "I am now on my way to 
Dakota Conference. It is after midnight I cannot 
say just whereabouts on the road I am, but I am sure 
I am not lost. Minnesota is in need of some work- 
ers — not drones. They need men who are willing to 
make some sacrifices. The pay is not large, but a 
faithful, earnest man will be comfortably sustained, 
and, in a few years, will be well supported. One 
trouble with some men is, they are not willing to bear 
their share of the hardships. A feathered nest is a 
nice thing, but somebody must feather it It is just 
as religious and noble to feather a nest for somebody 
else as to go into one that somebody else has feath- 
ered." 

He briefly tells something of the people and the 
kind of men they need: "It will require grit and 
grace and common sense to succeed on the frontier. 
Sacrifices will have to be made, but what of it ? 
If somebody had not made sacrifices long ago, noth- 
ing would have been accomplished. The demand now 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



253 



is for men to volunteer to go to the frontier and work 
for Jesus. Minnesota is an inviting field to men who 
can put their all on the altar and work for souls. The 
people of Minnesota are kind and generous, and pay 
more money in proportion to their members and 
wealth than they do in the older conferences." 

This great need reminds him of his own early min- 
istry on the frontier, and what it cost him. It will 
cost no more to-day. He says: "If I were twenty- 
five years younger, and felt as I feel now, and know 
what I know now, I should go to the frontier. It is 
no harder than it was on the frontier in Ohio, forty 
years ago. My first mission in northern Ohio was two 
hundred miles around, with seventeen appointments, 
and twenty-three members, all told. I traveled on 
horseback, for there was not a foot of railroad in that 
country, but I lived through it, and had a splendid 
time." 

As to who is responsible for this indisposition on 
the part of young men to seek the frontier, he is not 
sure. He says : "There seems to be something wrong 
in the training of our young men. They are not im- 
pressed with the necessity of going to the front. I 
believe I will lay the blame on Dr. Davis. He is, I 
believe the oldest educator in the Church, and started 
the ball rolling ; and now, of scores of young men at- 
tending our colleges and Seminary with a view to the 
ministry, scarcely one of them goes to the front. Our 
educators should turn a new leaf by urging young 
men to turn their thoughts to the frontier. Maybe 
they do occasionally refer to it, but I think they are 



254 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



too lamb-like in their counsel. Will the doctor and 
his colaborers in the educational work please wake up 
and take the hint, or must they all be discharged for 
neglect of duty V 9 

His heart constantly goes out to these frontier peo- 
ple, who are building up the civilization of the great 
West, and are asking for the bread of life at the 
hands of the United Brethren preachers, and the 
bishop has none to send them. At the close of the 
Dakota Conference, held in Milltown, Dakota, Oc- 
tober 19, 1883, he makes another earnest appeal: 
"We must have help on this field, or fail. This is a 
grand country, and is settling up rapidly. Many 
of our people have moved in here, and we have no 
ministers to send them. The whole field is open, and 
no one to occupy it. Are there not a few men whom 
God has called into the ministry, and who are not 
engaged in the active work, who could come here and 
work for Jesus ? We want earnest men, and not men 
seeking ease and comfort ; we want men of God, will- 
ing to make some sacrifice for Christ's sake. With 
half a dozen more earnest workers, we could soon 
make this a self-supporting conference. Those who 
go to Africa, that dark heathen land, make sacrifices 
that are worthy the name. In this beautiful and 
healthful country, the sacrifices are not to be com- 
pared to them. What if a dozen or two of miles lie 
between appointments ? What if some are poor and 
have but little means % What if some of their homes 
are small ? To balance all this, the people are kind 
and generous, and a good, faithful man of God will be 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



255 



kept above want, and, in a few years, will be well 
sustained." 

At the close of the year, he makes his report of the 
Northwest District, as follows : "My district is com- 
posed of fourteen conferences, twelve of which I have 
held in the last twelve weeks. To make this round 
of conferences, I had to travel nearly seven thousand 
miles. God has been very good to me, and here I 
wish to record, to the praise of the Heavenly Father, 
that in nineteen years of travel, including two trips 
to the Pacific Coast, I have not, in all these years, 
missed a conference. I never felt more like singing 
that old doxology than now. The conference sessions 
this fall have been unusually pleasant With but few 
exceptions, peace and harmony prevailed. The Dis- 
cipline of the Church, in the main, is respected and 
well observed in all the conferences. There was mani- 
fest at all the sessions an earnest desire for a general 
revival of religion. I shall expect to hear of gracious 
revivals during the year. In spite of all my imperfec- 
tions, I received nothing but marks of kindness from 
first to last. It did seem that all were baptized by 
one Spirit into one body. I often felt the force of 
David's words, 'Behold, how good and how pleasant 
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.' " 

And yet, there were things that, as a bishop inter- 
ested in the welfare of the Church, he could but re- 
gret : "The only discouraging feature is the pressing 
need of additional laborers in the northwest. The 
harvest is very great and fully ripe, but the laborers 
are few — few when compared with the great number 



256 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



of the unsaved. Would that the Lord of the harvest 
would send out more workers. The need is for ear- 
nest men, men of God, men of one work." 

The work done, he thinks, entitles him to a little 
respite, and he says : "I feel the need of a little rest, 
and trust the good brothers will excuse me if I remain 
at home for a few weeks. My heart is as young and 
fresh as ever, but I cannot endure constant work as 
I did years ago. It seems to me that it requires more 
grace to remain at home for a few weeks than it does 
to go." 

He reports for his district: Itinerant preachers, 
344; local, 261; members, 29,337; an increase for 
the year of 1,132 ; children in the Sabbath school, 
27,574; teachers and officers, 4,982. 

This reference which he makes as to his age gives 
us occasion to introduce his own statement as to where 
he was at this period : "A few days ago, I passed the 
fifty-ninth mile-stone in my pilgrimage from the 
cradle to the grave. Something tells me I am getting 
old, but I mean to die young. My heart and spirit, so 
far as I know myself, are just as young and buoyant 
as forty years ago. Some one said to Mr. Venn, 'Sir, 
I think you are on the wrong side of fifty.' 'No, sir/ 
answered Mr. Venn, 'I am on the right side of fifty.' 
'But, surely, you must be turned of fifty.' 'Yes, sir, 
but I am on the right side of fifty, for every year I 
live I am nearer my crown of glory.' 

"Never in my life have I had more of the spirit of 
work in me than now. Yes, if need be, I could sit up 
at night and work for the Master. What seems to 



Fifth Election as Bishop 



257 



trouble me most is, I get too little done. Life is go- 
ing, and I will soon be gone, and what have I done ? 
Maybe in the end I shall know that I won a few souls 
to Jesus. That will be more to me than if I had 
won an earthly kingdom. A few weeks ago, as I sat 
down and looked into the face of Dr. Davis, and lis- 
tened to his kind, gentle words, while, ever and anon, 
tears would fill his eyes, I said to myself, 'The old 
doctor is on the right side of fifty, and will die young.' 
Dr. Judson said, as he neared the river, ( 1 am not 
tired of my work, neither am I tired of the world, 
yet when Christ calls me home, I shall go with the 
gladness of a boy bounding away from school' " 
(Telescope, March 28, 1883). 

This, as would be natural, brings up some of the 
memories of the past : "Of the members who be- 
longed to the Muskingum Conference when I joined, 
all are gone. Through the abundant mercy of God, 
I have not been local a day in all these years. If 
health and strength would permit, I would be willing 
to contract for forty years more of itinerant work. I 
have often been tired in the work, but never tired of 
it. Of the Church, I have not a word of complaint to 
make. I was only a poor boy when I entered the min- 
istry. I have held my own all the way along. I have 
not given a fortune to the Church, for I had none to 
give. All that I have given is my life, thus far, and, 
by contract with the Master, whatever of life remains 
is to be given to the work. I have had food and rai- 
ment, if not always the best, it was better than I 
deserved." 

17 



258 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



He never failed to put in a plea for the missionary,, 
whether home or foreign, whenever he needs it. He 
writes, April 18, 1883, of the privations of our men 
on the frontier: '\Many of our earnest, faithful 
workers have suffered not only from the severe cold, 
but from actual want. I am personally acquainted 
with many of the ministers in northern Michigan,. 
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, Nebraska, and Colo- 
rado. Many of them are faithful, earnest workers,, 
and the sacrifices they have made none can realize but 
themselves. Most of them have held on, but some 
have been compelled to leave their work, while others 
are somewhat disheartened, and think they will be 
compelled to abandon their fields in the near future. 
Many of our frontier workers with large families re- 
ceive from fifty dollars to one hundred and fifty dol- 
lars a year. Do you ask me how they live ? I frankly 
say, I do not know. There never was a time when 
so many people were moving westward as now. Shall 
the Board call in some of the missionaries and aban- 
don some of the territory already occupied ? What 
would the Master say V 9 



CHAPTEE XV. 

The Gathering Storm. 

We have seen that during the last ten or more 
years there was a growing dissatisfaction with the 
antisecrecy law of the Church. When a man came 
into the Church, it had to be by consent of the mem- 
bership. To make it possible for the pastor to put 
him out of his own accord seemed so un-American, 
so opposed to all principles of justice and individual 
liberty, that many men were unwilling to enforce it. 
To say that it could be submitted to the class, and 
that they could vote in the affirmative for expulsion, 
but not in the negative, was no better, for it was no 
real vote at all. 

In September, 1873, an independent journal, 
called the United Brethren Tribune, was started as 
an advocate of lay and 'pro rata representation in 
General Conference, and for a modification of the 
law concerning secret societies. It was not an ad- 
vocate of secret societies, as its enemies reported, but 
of a more rational method of dealing with them. In 
an early issue, one of the corresponding editors 
wrote: "We think our law connected with what we 
define secret combinations, whether so or not, even 
the Sons of Temperance, Good Templars, Trades 
Unions, Farmers' Granges, Grand Army of the Re- 

259 



260 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



public, is needlessly severe; brings us into merited 
disrepute before the more intelligent classes of the 
country ; stands as an almost insurmountable barrier 
to our entrance into cities ; divides and destroys many 
of our long-established churches ; alienates brethren ; 
and, contrary to the Bible and the noblest aspirations 
of the human soul, attempts to put fetters on the 
conscience and reason of men made in the image of 
God." 

Another editor thus expresses himself: "Either 
the secrecy law must be obeyed and executed, or it 
must be ignored. If it be carried into execution, the 
best congregations in the Church will be broken up j 
disaster and ruin will be the result. . . . The 
prospect is beginning to brighten. We see signs of 
the morning dawning. A great change for good is 
being wrought in the minds of our people, and soon 
will they rise up in the strength of their might and 
declare the Church shall be no longer trammeled by 
this unnatural law." This writer advised a non- 
execution of the law as the best thing to be done. 

Another, discussing the law as passed at Lebanon, 
Pennsylvania, said : "It will be an occcasion of strife 
as long as it remains. It will invite needless ex- 
ternal opposition, and foment internal discord. Its 
stringent enforcement (which will never occur) will 
cost us thousands of good members ; and if the legis- 
lation of the General Conference is found to be im- 
practicable, and not sustained by the average senti- 
ment of the Church, let the General Conference cor- 
rect its errors." 



The Gathering Storm 



261 



The men who edited and controlled this paper 
were men of conviction and ability, and their teach- 
ings, no doubt, produced an effect, and helped the 
sooner to bring on the final conflict. With this bone 
of contention out of the way, other matters in the 
Church could have been adjusted. It was not out of 
the way, and, instead of seeking to harmonize by 
moderating the severity of the law, every opportunity 
that came the screw was given another twist. There 
could be but one result — something must give way. 

Said a correspondent in 1883 : "One extreme be- 
gets another. If one party leads out in the conflict, 
it must not be supposed that the other will remain 
neutral. ^Needless agitation should always be 
avoided. The middle ground should be sought by 
us, as it best represents the true sentiments of the 
Church, and, having found it, hands should be 
plighted in the great mission of soul-saving. We 
must agree to be brethren. We cannot afford now to 
divide, and lose the toils and sacrifices of a century. 
The achievements of the past and the memories of 
our sacred dead forbid such a calamity." 

If any man tried to find out the real sentiment of 
the Church, it was Bishop Weaver, and he learned to 
know it as no other man, perhaps, did. For a num- 
ber of years he had been witnessing the trouble 
caused by enforcing the law, and was seeking to find 
some golden mean on which both sides could harmon- 
ize and allay the bitter feeling in the Church. The 
first year after he was elected bishop, he was holding 
a meeting in Roanoke, Indiana. After the meeting, 



262 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



a number presented themselves for membership in 
the Church, among the number a man and wife. The 
man informed him that he was a Mason, and Bishop 
Weaver told him he could not take him in. This 
was a very perplexing situation. It happened to 
him elsewhere, as it happened to hundreds of others. 

He and Dr. Davis were personal friends, Dr. 
Davis representing the most radical wing of the 
Church, and Bishop Weaver the more moderate. He 
presented to Dr. Davis, one day, a case like the fol- 
lowing, which happened more than once, and asked 
his advice, but he did not receive it : "For example, 
here is a young man who has completed his course 
in the Seminary, and has a personal debt on him in- 
curred in securing his education. He wants to find 
a place to preach where he can do good, and save a 
little money to pay his debts. I go into the station- 
ing committee with this on my mind, and finally I 
find a mission field which he can fill. The member- 
ship is small, but they can pay something, and, be- 
sides this, the conference will make an appropriation. 
He works faithfully, and has an interesting revival. 
The outlook is hopeful every way. He opens the 
doors of the Church, and some women and children 
come in, while the men go elsewhere. They belong 
to the Sons of Temperance, the Grand Army, or some 
other organization of that kind, and cannot be re- 
ceived. The young man is discouraged. He has 
worked hard and faithfully, and others have received 
the result of his labors. He wants to pull out of 
the Church, and go elsewhere. Now, what shall I 



The Gathering Storm 



263 



say to him to keep him faithful to the Church and to 
encourage him to go forward?" 

Bishop Dickson was present when this conversa- 
tion occurred. Dr. Davis had listened to Bishop 
Weaver, and then told him, in reply, the story which 
Lincoln is reported to have used when he was asked 
what to do with the contrabands, and he replied, in 
substance, as follows: "If I were plowing in a 
stumpy field, and found a stump which had partly 
rotted away, and its roots did not take very strong 
hold, I would hitch 3 to it and pull it out, so it would 
not disturb me any more. If it were a stiff, solid 
stump, which I could not pull out, I would go around 
it If I did not, I might break my plow and not 
be able to do any more plowing." After listening to 
the story, Bishop Dickson replied, "Yes, but the 
stump is there, all the same." 

It was either during the year 1882 or the early 
part of 1883 that Dr. Davis, in communication with 
Bishop Weaver, urged that they two go into the Tele- 
scope and discuss the question as to what sort of leg- 
islation touching the secrecy question would be the 
best for the Church. It seemed to the bishop, on 
reflection, that this might be a good thing to do. It 
took some time and correspondence to state the matter 
so as to be satisfactory to both. Bishop Weaver was 
anxious to arrange so that Dr. Davis should have the 
affirmative, but the latter declined to do this, and 
pressed the bishop to affirm, which he finally agreed 
to do. Bishop Weaver went to work to prepare his 
first article, and wrote and rewrote it, until he had 



264 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



it about ready to print. At this time, a letter was 
received from Dr. Davis, in which he declined to dis- 
cuss the matter, as formerly agreed upon, alleging as 
a reason that Bishop Weaver was well known in the- 
Church, and that he was known to but a small circle, 
and that therefore Bishop Weaver would have the 
advantage of him. On the receipt of this letter, 
Bishop Weaver wrote Dr. Davis that he had his first 
article prepared, and, as they were personal friends, 
both anxious for the good of the Church, he would 
send it to him to read, which he did. Dr. Davis, even 
after reading it, declined to proceed any further. 
After some little delay, Bishop Weaver wrote him 
again, and said that, as he had already prepared this 
one article, he would publish it, and perhaps another 
one or two, without any thought of controversy. In 
spite of all this, after Bishop Weaver's article ap- 
peared in print, Dr. Davis replied to him. 

The position of Bishop Weaver, made known to 
Dr. Davis through his communication, may have in- 
spired the communication of Dr. Davis in the Tele- 
scope, January 11, 1884, on "Our Rule," from whicfct 
we make this extract : a Our fathers maintained this 
position [opposition to secrecy], and so can we. To 
surrender now would be disgraceful in the extreme. 
Some think if this question is let alone, it will settle 
itself. Did slavery go down by letting it alone? 
Let us not be deceived by this dangerous and treach- 
erous policy. It will prove a snare and a crime. If 
we do not wish to affiliate with secret orders, let us 
say so, and act accordingly. 



The Gathering Storm 



265 



"But what shall we say of those who profess to 
believe that these secret orders are evil in their na- 
ture, and yet adopt the say-nothing and do-nothing 
policy respecting these corrupt and dangerous orders I 
Could inconsistency be more gross and palpable ? 
There are also others who are bold and defiant in 
their opposition to the constitution and rule of the 
Church. The let-alone policy is also applied to them. 
I hold, these abuses ought to be corrected. If it can- 
not be done, church authority among us is little more 
than a rope of sand." 

This was the occasion for Bishop Weaver writing 
the first of his "Outlook" articles. He was then liv- 
ing at Lisbon, Iowa. He rewrote and rewrote until 
it was as well done as he thought he could make it. 
He laid it away for a time, to reflect over it, then 
read it to friends, among the rest, Rev. I. K. Statton, 
then residing at Lisbon. Mr. Statton said to him: 
"Don't you publish it. It is the very thing that 
should be said, but I don't want you to say it. It 
will kill you." Bishop Weaver replied, "It don't 
matter what becomes of me ; if it is the right thing 
to do, it should be done." It was then sent to Dr. 
Hott, editor of the Telescope, and he was asked to 
counsel with W. J. Shuey and some other friends, 
and then advise him what they thought of it. They 
agreed that it should be published, and so advised 
him. He acted upon their judgment, and published 
the article, which fell like a thunderbolt in the camp 
of the more radical men, but was a signal for rejoic- 
ing among the more moderate. It was a ray of hope 



266 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



to them in a dark night. TThen it was published, he 
received a number of complimentary letters, as well 
as some that were not. All of these were destroyed, 
the latter, as he said, because he did not want any 
one to see them. After all this previous correspond- 
ence, Dr. Davis took up his article and replied to it. 
So thev had their discussion through the paper, after 
all. 

The first and more moderate of his "Outlook" ar- 
ticles appeared in the Telescope August 22, 1SS3. 
In this he speaks of his opportunity for knowing the 
average sentiment of the Church. Men differ in 
opinion as to the best means of dealing with secret 
organizations. Of those he has met, not half a dozen 
have shown any sympathy with secrecy itself. He 
shows that he has been unjustly assailed. He cannct 
consent to denounce men who are good men, and with 
whom he has labored for years. He makes a few sug- 
gestions: "(1) Let men of God who have carefully 
studied the whole question point out the evil nature 
and tendency of secret organization. Let this be 
done in the name and spirit of Christ. (2) Let those 
who believe that our present law is not what it ought 
to be, formulate a law based upon what they may 
conceive to be the principles and spirit of the gos- 
pel of Jesus, and submit it to. and for the considera- 
ton of the Church. If men will only stop, think, and 
pray, there will be found a true basis upon which the 
great majority of our people can, and will stand. (3) 
Let all the true and tried friends of the Church rise 
up in the spirit of the Master, and demand that this 



The Gathering Storm 



267 



wholesale way of denouncing the brethren who see 
differently from themselves must be stopped." 

In the issue for September 26, 1883, Kev. W. W. 
Knipple takes exception to the statements of Bishop 
Weaver, and intimates therein that he had not been 
very rigid in looking after the execution of the law 
of the Church, and that his sympathies seem to be 
with those who are not enforcing it. 

In the issue for October 10, the bishop recognizes 
Knipple's article in a very brief note, and says : "We 
do not see alike what ought to be done in a case of 
this kind. One way of fixing it would be for me to 
denounce him in bitter terms, and then he in like 
manner denounce me, and end up by politely inviting 
each other to leave the Church — all because we can- 
not agree. That would be unity with a vengeance. 

"I did not write with a view to entering into con- 
troversy, and shall not do it. His deductions from 
the principles I laid down may be strictly logical, 
even though I may not comprehend it. His imagina- 
tion is certainly very fine. But the future — and may 
be the near future — will demonstrate who is right. 
The Lord reigns, and all will be well." 

This may be a good place to introduce an extract 
from one of his communications on "Fault-Finding" : 
"I remember to have read of a service that was held 
by the Quakers, or Friends. They sat quietly for a 
long time, as is their custom. Finally the Spirit 
moved a woman to speak. She arose in her place 
and said : 'My friends, I think we ought all to turn 
our sacks end for end. We each carry a sack, and 



268 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



carefully put in our own faults in the bottom and 
throw it over our shoulders. Then we put our neigh- 
bors' faults in the mouth of the sack; we just hold 
them with our hands, so that at any time we can let 
out these faults. Suppose we change the sack end for 
end, and get our own in front.' " 

He was always an earnest advocate of revivals. 
While residing at Lisbon, a wonderful revival oc- 
curred, and this gave him an occasion for an article, 
in which he says : "I give it as my opinion that when 
scores of souls are born into the kingdom there will 
be some demonstration. Some pass from darkness 
into light in a very quiet way, but it is not so, and 
cannot be so in every case. It requires a tremendous 
power to renew a soul. Nothing less than the power 
of the Holy Spirit can do it. In the gracious revival 
now in progress in this place (Lisbon), when over 
one hundred souls have been converted, I have been at 
the altar when scores of them were saved. Some 
were calm, some wept, and some gave expression more 
vigorously. One man nearly eighty years old was 
among the converts. I chanced to be near him when 
the blessing came. I shall never forget his counte- 
nance when, with trembling limbs, he arose and looked 
around, tears running from his eyes, and exclaimed, 
'I am saved, oh, how light ! Glory to God !' I do 
not advocate excitement for the sake of excitement. 
I only advocate thorough revivals of religion, and it 
is my opinion that when scores of souls are saved by 
the power of the Holy Spirit, there will be some vis- 
ible stir." 



The Gathering Storm 



269 



There comes a gentle admonition for those who 
want an improvement on the old methods: "There 
is a kind of itching to be like somebody else, but this 
proves a miserable failure. It is like some young 
preachers who try to preach like somebody else, and 
the result is, they are themselves, and they cannot 
be like somebody else, and they are very nearly no- 
body. God has something for us to do, and we want 
to do it in our own way. Along this line we always 
did succeed. If we undertake to work on somebody 
else's line, we shall fail. Presbyterians have a tre- 
mendous work to do in their way, and they are doing 
it. But we must not undertake to do as they do. 
Our ecclesiastical machinery is not adjusted to use 
on their truck. We must, under God, do our work in 
our own way." 

During March, 1884, he assisted Eev. G. F. Deal 
in holding a two-weeks' meeting at Canal Dover, 
Ohio, in the bounds of his own conference. In May, 
he addressed the students of the Union Biblical Semi- 
nary on the subject of "'Winning Souls." Says the 
editor of the Telescope: "This discourse was pre- 
pared with great care, and delivered with that clear- 
ness and beauty of style which is known to belong 
to the bishop in so marked a degree. It was, of 
course, directed to the students of the Seminary, and 
its aim was to lead them to a fresh and thorough con- 
secration to the work of winning souls, and to direct 
them in the most successful methods of accomplishing 
this work. Xo one is more fitted to speak to our 
young men on such a theme than Bishop Weaver. 



270 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



. . . He is in better health, and looks well. The 
past year has been one of earnest work on his dis- 
trict. He has borne the work well, though his marked 
iron gray locks indicate that quadrenniums have 
passed since the miter was placed on his head." 

He was not a little stirred at times, and especially 
when holding the frontier conferences, to find some 
very able-bodied men who had retired from the min- 
istry. They do good service for a time, and then 
drift into some other business. In his judgment, men 
should continue in the ministry as long as they are 
able. He approved of the opinion of Dr. Adam 
Clarke, that "as every genuine preacher receives his 
commission from God alone, it is God alone who can 
take it away. Woe to the man who runs when God 
has not sent him ; and woe to the man who refuses to 
run, or who ceases to run when God has sent him." 

He himself thus writes: "So far as I know, all 
the apostles continued in the work until death. Men 
not a few have retired from the work more for the 
purpose of making money than anything else. They 
were abundantly able to run a store, or do a good 
day's work on a farm. As a rule, you will find that 
class of men to be a little harder on the itinerants 
than any other person ; they are so hard to suit. An 
old, worn-out minister, who has been faithful until 
he could work no more, is usually kind and sympa- 
thetic; but many of these half -worn-out men, who 
quit the active work because they can make more 
money at something else, are often snarly and almost 
unfeeling toward others. Nothing on earth is more 



The Gathering Storm 



271 



to be admired than a firm, kind-hearted, cheerful old 
minister ; but the Lord deliver me from an old snarl." 

This only prepared the way for a more positive 
statement of his own convictions : "Before any man 
retires from the active work, he should take counsel at 
the throne of grace. It is not a matter that any man 
can afford to trifle with. I give it as my opinion that 
no man ought to retire as long as he is able to per- 
form the work of a minister. There may be some 
exceptions, but they are few. Those whom God calls 
to the work, if they are faithful and true, will find 
a place in the Church as long as they are able to do 
anything. The most useful ministers the world has 
ever had were those who worked on until they died. 
Luther, Wesley, Otterbein, and Asbury worked until 
they could work no more* The last public act of 
Bishop Otterbein was to ordain a few brethren to 
the office of elders in the Church. When Bishop New- 
comer was old and feeble, he made an effort to reach 
Virginia Conference, but his strength failed him, and 
ten days afterwards he died in the work. I trust I 
have no improper ambition. I think I am willing 
to die poor, if need be; but I do want to die in the 
active work." The Lord granted him his request, and 
he died in the active work. 

Elsewhere we have referred to his assisting in a 
meeting at Canal Dover, Ohio, ITarch, 1884. Con- 
cerning this meeting he said: "Twenty-nine years 
ago (1855), I was stationed at this place; twenty- 
seven years ago, I removed from this place. The 
river that runs beside the town seems as young as it 



272 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



did twenty-seven years ago ; nearly all else is changed. 
Those that were children then have grown up, and, 
have families. Those that were then in the prime of 
life are now old and feeble men, and some have fallen 
asleep. Those who were called old then have gone 
beyond. . . . The dear Master has been with us 
in this meeting, and a number of souls were saved and 
joined the Church. We were on the old line — c the 
mourner's bench.' There was good singing, loud 
praying, and a small amount of shouting. I have 
known some of these brethren for many years. 
Forty-three years ago (1841), when I was at the 
mourner's bench, this Brother Stauffer prayed for 
me. God bless him ! . . . Many reminiscences 
of the past rush through my mind. When I took 
the hand of one dear brother, I remembered 
that thirty-seven years ago we joined the old Mus- 
kingum Conference together. Almost all have gone, 
some to one place, some to another, but most to eter- 
nity. Thirty-seven years more, and my name will 
be on some old conference journal ; that 's all — no, not 
all; there is a heaven beyond, where the good will 
be forever. Lord, make us good, and keep us good 
evermore." 

He reached his sixtieth birthday while aiding 
a minister of Monticello, Iowa, in holding a 
series of meetings. As he was about to close the 
services, one evening, the Methodist pastor spoke to 
him and said, "A little girl has something to say." 
He paused, and the little girl, stepping in front of 
the altar, made a neat little speech, and presented 



The Gathering Storm 



273 



him with a pair of slippers. He responded as best 
he could, and was about to dismiss, when the pastor, 
stepping up, presented him with fifty dollars, as a 
birthday present. This was a complete surprise to 
him. 

In speaking of the event, he writes to the Tele- 
scope : "I have never been sixty years old before, and 
I just wonder if this is the rule to so treat every one 
when he reaches sixty. Will this continue every year 
after he is sixty? Things are so uncertain in this 
world, you do not always know what to do, and so I 
should like to know. Now, I might go to work and 
prepare an excellent speech for my next birthday, and 
there might not be fifty dollars around to call it out. 
In spite of everything, a man past sixty must feel 
that he is getting old in body ; but no matter for that 
if all is well beyond. Such exhibitions of kindness 
make an oasis in the down-hill journey of an old 
man. Thanks to all, with an earnest wish that we 
may all meet at home in the morning." 

Speaking further of his field of work, he says: 
""Rewards here and there still continue. Letters not 
a few come to me full of cheer. Souls by scores and 
hundreds are coming home to Jesus. Let the blessed 
work go on. Why not ? In the winter and summer 
shall it be. Why not have revivals all summer ? It 
used to be so ; why not now ? A consecrated ministry, 
with a consecrated church, may keep the revival spirit 
all the time." 

In his address to the students of Union Biblical 
Seminary, he urged the importance of sending hale, 

18 



274 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

healthy, educated young men to the frontier. He 
said that if it were in his power, he would send them 
for five years. Dr. McKee took him to task for this, 
and urged it would be better to send young men of 
families, who could divide their time between preach- 
ing and farming. The inference was, that the fron- 
tier did not need as well-informed men as did the 
fields at home. The bishop replies to this: "When 
I speak of frontier, I do not mean simply rural dis- 
tricts, or circuits taking in whole counties. I mean, 
also, the growing towns and cities, where education 
and educated citizens take the lead. While in Da- 
kota, last fall (1883), I met a young Methodist min- 
ister who was in search of some of his appointments. 
He was from Boston, and informed me that a number 
of other young men from the Eew England States 
had just landed in Dakota. They were hale, hearty, 
educated young men. This is the way other churches 
are building up on the frontier, and they hold the 
towns and country as well. Brother McKee would 
have us neglect the growing towns just as they did 
in Ohio when he and I were boys; repeat the same 
thing over and over. 

"If we had had the men fifty years ago, and our 
fathers had thought it wise to put educated young 
men into some of the then growing towns of Ohio and 
other States East, we should most likely be better 
off to-day. This is precisely what I want to do on 
the frontier now. In our growing towns and cities, 
a young minister will come in contact with represent- 
atives from nearly every State in the Union ; and if 



The Gatheri?ig Storm 



275 



he is not wide awake he will be left standing in some 
corner feeling for a nickel to pay street-car fare to 
go somewhere. While five years in the West might 
help to develop the bones and muscles in the body of 
an educated man, it will also tend to broaden his 
views and sharpen him up. In my sermon, I said 
it will take grit, grace, and common sense to succeed 
anywhere, but I thought a young man would acquire 
these in the West a little sooner than anywhere else. 
It were wiser for us to pitch our tent in some of the 
younger towns that will, by and by, become cities 
and centers of influence" {Telescope, June 18, 1884). 

Dr. McKee having called in question some of 
Bishop Weaver's theories, he takes occasion to explain 
more fully his sermon before the students of the Semi- 
nary, and also his interest in young men. His posi- 
tion on the educational question is well known. He 
has always favored young men who were in earnest 
in acquiring an education: "But education alone 
will not fit a man for the pulpit. There are to-day 
thousands of educated men occupying pulpits who are 
the veriest drones. Education joined with a holy zeal 
and the spirit of self-sacrifice will succeed. There are 
educated and uneducated men in the ministry to-day 
who have not energy enough to accomplish anything. 
When I said that young men, not a few, were looking 
for feathered nests, I knew just what I was talking 
about. There is a class of young men who are not 
willing to bear their share of the trials and hard- 
ships of the itineracy. Give them a feathered nest, 
and they will stick; otherwise they will not. I am 



276 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



acquainted with certain uneducated young men who 
are willing to bear their share of the labors and sac- 
rifices of an itinerant life. They are the men that 
do, and will succeed." 

He reiterates his views that it would be a good 
thing for young men to go West. He thinks five years' 
experience on the frontier would do them more good 
than the same number of years in an old, staid town 
or city in the East : "Why, there is not only a rush 
on the frontier to get rich, but there is a rush of 
thought that is surprising. Almost every nation is 
represented here. An educated young man in the 
city of Denver told me, only a few days since, that 
he was surprised to find so many men in the com- 
mon walks of life so w r ell educated. Said he, We 
have from England, Wales, Scotland, and other for- 
eign countries, scores and hundreds of educated men ; 
so from every State in the Union we have a vast 
number of educated young people/ An educated 
young man, if he has the grace and grit to push out 
into such a rushing current of thought as he may 
find on the frontier, will grow faster and better than 
anywhere I know of." 

Bishop Weaver makes another reference to those 
who have left us : "Young men, not a few, in search 
of feathered nests, have gone out of the Church, and 
are now hidden in other churches, and will not likely 
succeed in making a mark anywhere. I have no un- 
kind word to say of other churches, nor of those who 
have joined them; but if some of those young men, 
instead of going out of the Church to find an easy 



The Gathering Storm 



217 



place, would have gone to the frontier in the name 
and spirit of the Master, they would have gained an 
influence and reputation for good they never will 
gain where they now are. Such like facts coming 
to me during the past twenty years induced me to 
say what I did in that sermon, and I have nothing to 
recall.'' 

His conferences for the year were held as follows : 
St. Joseph, near South Whitly, Indiana, August 20 ; 
Michigan, Bengal Church, St, John's, Michigan, Au- 
gust 27 ; North Michigan, Sparta, Michigan, Sep- 
tember 3 ; Upper Wabash, Chase, Indiana, September 
10; Rock River, Lovell Chapel, Sycamore, Illinois; 
Fox River, Strongs Prairie, Wisconsin, September 
26 ; Wisconsin, Bethel Chapel, Monroe, Wisconsin, 
October 2 ; Minnesota, Edgewood, Minnesota, Oc- 
tober 9 ; Dakota, Canton, Dakota, October 16 ; West 
Des Moines, Des Moines, Iowa, October 22 ; West 
Nebraska, Gibbon, Nebraska, October 30; Iowa, 
Toledo, Iowa, April 1, 1885. Elkhorn met at 
Schuyler, Missouri, June 26. The Colorado Mis- 
sion Conference met near Longmont, Colorado, June 
19. 

At the close of the Colorado Mission Conference, 
he makes an appeal through the paper for one or 
more men. The prospects are encouraging. There 
are three appointments lying near each other for 
which a man is wanted. They are in full view of the 
mountains of the snowy peaks, the tops of which toy 
with the clouds. So far as the people know, there is 
snow there that fell when the first Pharaoh was ruler 



278 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



in Egypt. He wishes he were a poet for a short time, 
that he might picture these mountains. 

A lady asked an anxious mother whether her son 
was fond of poetry. The lady mistook the word 
"poetry" for "poultry," and answered that her son 
was exceedingly fond of poultry. "Indeed," she said, 
"it seemed as if he could never get enough of 
chicken." The first lady said, "T did not mean that ; 
I said poetry; that is, does your son manifest any- 
thing of that divine afflatus?" "Well," said the 
anxious mother, "my son has had nearly all the 
diseases common to children, but I don't think he ever 
had anything like the divine flatness." Said the 
bishop, in his article, "I am conscious of having a 
good degree of flatness when it comes to writing 
poetry, so I never try." 

At the Des Moines Conference, a fraternal dele- 
gation from a Baptist association was introduced to 
the conference, and the chairman delivered an ad- 
dress, to which Bishop Weaver replied. When they 
were leaving the conference room, the delegates shook 
hands with the bishop, and, in bidding him good-by, 
one of them said, "When we get to heaven, we shall 
all be United Brethren." Bishop Weaver, in his 
peculiar manner, replied, "We are ahead of you ; we 
are United Brethren now." 

His conferences taxed him not a little. He was 
taken down, soon after reaching home, with neuralgia, 
mainly located in the base of the brain, and which, 
for a time, seriously threatened to result in brain 
fever, but it yielded to treatment, and, in due time, 
he recovered. 




Bishop Jonathan Weaver.— About 1885. 



CHAPTEK XVI. 
The Battle oe the Giants. — 1885. 

The year 1885 opened with no little foreboding 
on the part of many warm friends of the Church. 
The General Conference was to meet in May. All 
felt that something should be done to relieve the 
troubled conditions, but what it would be, or should 
be, not many could tell. Dr. Warner, of the aggress- 
ive, liberal class, wrote, January 28 : "Down under 
the surface of our Church life is a substratum of dis- 
couragement, if not of discontent, that needs to be 
greatly diminished, if not entirely removed. It will 
be very unfortunate if it is increased or aggravated. 
In the last four years, the growth of the Church has 
been comparatively small. The General Conference 
should not adjourn until it has done that which shall 
give peace to the Church, and insure united effort 
in the future, if it be possible to do it, A general 
peace will bring local peace, and throw the Church 
into compact columns, against which no power it 
should conquer can stand." 

For some time Bishop Weaver had been kept at 
home by the severe sickness of a daughter. The con- 
dition of the Church gave him no little anxiety. It 
was the business of those who have the supervision 
of the Church to find a way out, if possible. For some 

279 



280 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



time, and in various ways, lie Had been taking the 
temperature of the Church. It was not his way to 
shirk duty when the path seemed clear and plain, 
so, in the quiet of his own chamber, away from the 
excitement of the crowded assembly, he gave his best 
judgment to the situation, without fear or favor, as 
he should answer to God in the great day. It was 
embodied in a three-column communication to the 
Telescope, entitled a The Outlook," and printed in 
the issue for February 25. As it was a paper of in- 
tense interest, and will be historic for all time, we 
give it in full : 

"There are times when men ought to express their 
honest convictions on matters of church polity with- 
out being charged with disloyalty or fanaticism. It 
seems to me that time has come in the history of the 
United Brethren Church. It is not the time for 
harsh words and hot controversy, but for calm, delib- 
erate Christian thought. Because men differ in their 
opinions is no reason why they should denounce each 
other as insincere. Men who are laboring to build 
up the Church ought to be permitted to express their 
views without being denounced. I refer particu- 
larly to the difference of opinion on the secrecy ques- 
tion. 

"In one way and another, I have canvassed the 
views of our people East and West, and I give it 
as my deliberate opinion that nine-tenths of the mem- 
bers, ministers and all, are opposed to secret organi- 
zations. I have not found ten persons in the Church 
in ten years to advocate the claims of secret societies.. 



Uie Battle of the Giants 



281 



What others have found, I do not know. I simply 
give what I know. 

"What I have found is a difference of opinion con- 
cerning the best manner of dealing with them. 'With 
malice toward none, and charity for all,' I shall write 
my sentiments freely. Our present law, by a good 
many of our ministers, is not, and, in my opinion, will 
not be enforced. Men who have always been true to 
the principles of the Church have said to me that they 
could not conscientiously enforce the law ; others that 
they would not do it. I asked them to give their 
reasons for not doing it. The following, in substance, 
was their answer : 'A brother, a prominent member, 
joined a major order (Odd Fellows). I visited him. 
He confessed his error, asked to be forgiven, and 
promised never to visit the lodge again. The law de- 
clares him out of the Church, and all I had to do 
was to erase his name and announce the fact to the 
class. Neither the pastor nor the class had any dis- 
cretion in the case. The law makes no provisions for 
his restoration, no matter what his confessions and 
promises may be. In such case, I could not an- 
nounce to the class that he was out of the Church. 
When he asked pardon, I had to forgive him as I 
hope to be forgiven.' Now, this is no exaggeration ; 
it is a simple statement of fact as I have heard it 
again and again. 

"Some men have said they would enforce the law, 
but they would do it in a mild way. But the law 
makes no such provisions. Eight at this point is 
where thousands of our people this day are halting, 



282 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



and will halt. Any and every law that does not rest 
upon the principles and spirit of the gospel of Jesus 
Christ will produce restlessness among evangelical 
Christians. The laws provided in our book of Dis- 
cipline against offenses, except this one, seem to be in 
the most perfect harmony with the teachings of Christ 
and the apostles. Touching any offense named by 
Christ and his apostles, of which any disciple might 
be guilty, provisions are made for his restoration; 
so, according to our Discipline, if a man is guilty of 
an immorality or of willful neglect, he is to be labored 
with and restored, if possible ; but if he joins a secret 
order, he is out, and no provisions are made to restore 
him, except in the minor orders, and that is not well 
understood by many of our people. Along these lines 
our people are confused and divided. I have faith 
in our ministers and members. They are intelligent, 
devout, and sincere. 

"I have, in forty-five years, lived under five dif- 
ferent rules on the secrecy question, and, without 
egotism, I can say that I have been true to every one 
of them. In my principle, I am to-day where I was 
forty years ago. I want a rule bearing against these 
orders that shall be in perfect harmony with the spirit 
and principles of the gospel of Christ, I shall lay it 
down as a principle that every law of the Church that 
does not make provision for the restoration of offend- 
ers is not in harmony with the principles of the gospel 
of Christ. 

"It is time this question was settled. Our people 
are becoming more and more restless — not alone our 



The Battle of the Giants 



283 



ministers, but members as well. Our people are feel- 
ing the burden of carrying our various interests for- 
ward ; and by the severity of our present law we are 
virtually shut out of the large towns and cities, those 
centers of influence and power from which other 
churches draw so largely to support their institutions. 
But one says, "Give us a pure church." Very well; 
but who of us would be members to-day if that had 
been enforced all the time ? We should aim to keep 
the Church as pure as we can ; but it is certainly not 
wise to put all our force to bar the door against one 
evil, while a thousand others may be coming in from 
some other quarter. We should always be careful lest 
while we seek to pull the tares we do not destroy the 
wheat. Our Lord's lesson in Matt. 13 is very in- 
structive. But some are very zealous to keep the 
Church pure along certain lines. They would pull 
up the tares, no matter how much wheat would be 
destroyed. Our Lord said not so. 

"The mission of the Church is to save souls. 
Hence, every part and particle of church machinery 
should be adjusted so as to accomplish this end. And 
here, it seems to me, there comes to us a very serious 
question, Are we saving men from the lodge? We 
ought to be able to save men from the lodge as well 
as from other evils. If God has called us to oppose 
this evil, and I believe he has, then it seems to me 
that our church machinery should be so adjusted 
that we would save men from it. What good will 
come of it in the end if we oppose an evil, and yet 
leave nine-tenths to die in it? We oppose other 



284 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



evils, and, by the grace of God, are saving men from 
them. 

"I conceive that it may be possible to assume such 
an attitude against an evil as to completely antagonize 
all who are in any sense in sympathy with it Min- 
isters sometimes oppose evil in such a manner that 
they thrust the people away from them. So by the 
terms of a law, however just in itself, men may be so 
antagonized that they cannot be reached by the 
friends of that law. I suggest the above as a propo- 
sition we will do well to consider. If we are right in 
our present method of opposing secret organizations, 
then it must be that God does not require us to win 
men from it, but only to oppose it and keep it out of 
our Church. The advocacy and strict enforcement 
of our law will have precisely this effect. 

"Another matter should be well considered, which 
is this: making every secret society a test of mem- 
bership. It is not difficult to convince intelligent 
men and women that Christians should not be mem- 
bers of certain oath-bound secret organizations; but 
to show, from a Bible standpoint, that it is a sin of 
sufficient magnitude to exclude from church fellow- 
ship all persons who belong to what are called minor 
orders is more than can satisfactorily be done. The' 
Quakers, who, for a long time, did about as we are 
doing now, have quietly changed, not their opposition 
to secrecy, but their method of opposing these orders. 
Excluding every little beneficiary order simply be- 
cause there is some little secret about it cannot be 
well sustained. I lay it down as a principle that every 



The Battle of the Giants 



285 



organization should be made to stand or fall upon its 
own merits or demerits. Because it may be right to 
exclude from church fellowship members of certain 
oath-bound secret orders, that does not prove that it 
is right to exclude all members of secret societies, un- 
less it can be established that secrecy is a sin per se. 
Our law indiscriminately shuts the door against all. 

"In some of our large towns and cities we are tug- 
ging along with little mission churches until our peo- 
ple in the rural districts are getting tired of paying 
money to support them. If it were not for our sweep- 
ing law against all secret orders, we could to-day have 
large, self-sustaining congregations in towns and cities 
where now we have nothing at all, or at least only 
little mission congregations. 

"Many of our ministers are becoming disheartened, 
living, as they do, on less than half salary. They 
work hard, and often in small towns and villages 
have excellent revivals, while other churches reap 
most of the fruits of such revivals, because many of 
the converts belong to some minor secret order, such 
as the Grand Army or some temperance organiza- 
tion. I have received many letters from good and 
true men, who say they are utterly discouraged, and 
will be compelled either to stop preaching or go else- 
where. Many of these converts could be won from 
these minor orders if they could be cared for and in- 
structed ; but our law meets them at the door and for- 
bids them entrance. I am stating facts just as I know 
them to exist ; and, unless some relief can be offered, 
I fear that we shall suffer very considerable loss. 



286 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Fine theories, spun out by men in good circumstances 
financially, are all well enough ; but living on a salary 
of two or three hundred dollars, with a family of five 
or six children, is quite another thing. 

"With all due reverence to our fathers, I will say 
that it matters little to me what they said or did. 
In some things they were right, and in some things 
they were wrong. For the right they should be hon- 
ored, and for the wrong they should be set aside. We 
have a more sure word of prophecy. It would hardly 
do for ministers and members of the Church to-day 
to use the decanter as some of the fathers did. We 
are living in another age, with vastly different sur- 
roundings, and our ecclesiastical machinery must be 
adjusted to meet these days, and not the days of our 
fathers. Only so far as we have positive divine au* 
thority are we required to maintain the same form 
of church law. The details of church law, for the 
most part, are human. Hence it is that we change 
so often. Compare our Discipline with what it was 
forty, thirty, or even twenty years ago, and the dif- 
ference is very considerable. 

"It is the solemn duty of those who are called 
upon to legislate for a Christian church to adopt laws 
that can, and will be executed, so as to maintain the 
dignity and purity of the Church, and yet be a means 
of correcting and saving souls. Every church law 
that is in harmony with the spirit of the gospel of 
Christ can be defended. Take our law relating to 
the 'trial of members' (Discipline, pages 22-25), or 
that relating to the 'duties of members' (pages 18- 



The Battle of the Giants 



287 



22). It would not be difficult to show that these 
rules are compatible with the gospel of Christ. 
So it should be with every rule and law of the 
Church. 

"Furthermore, I believe that a reasonable construc- 
tion should be put upon the fourth article of our con- 
stitution, and then, with some changes, submitted to 
the members for their adoption or rejection. It seems 
to me that two-thirds of those that will vote ought to 
settle all questions in the Church. If the time ever 
comes when two-thirds of the active, working mem- 
bers of the Church desire a change, it should be 
granted. If two-thirds of those who have interest 
enough to vote say the constitution is right as it is, 
then let it remain. If two-thirds say it ought to be 
changed, then let it be changed. But if we are 
to wait until two-thirds of the ' whole society' request 
a change, then it will never come. As a denomina- 
tion, I suppose we are about as good as those around 
us ; but there is no sect whose members are all active. 
At least one-third of the members of the very best 
denominations are but nominal Christians. One- 
third of our members have but little interest in the 
general work of the Church. I doubt if, on any ques- 
tion submitted to our people, two-thirds of the whole 
society would vote. It is hardly probable that there 
will be five delegates at our next General Conference 
who were elected by two-thirds of the members of 
their conference. The chances are that the majority 
will have been elected by not more than one-third af 
the members of their respective conferences. They 



288 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



will have received a majority of the votes of those that 
voted, no more. 

"Now, it seems to me to be most unreasonable that 
one-third of inactive members, who have not inter- 
est enough in the welfare of the Church to vote on 
any question, should be allowed to control the two- 
thirds of active, working members. A literal inter* 
pretation of the fourth article of our constitution, for 
which some contend, puts the future destiny of our 
Church, so far as any change in the constitution is 
concerned, into the hands of this one-third of in- 
active and indifferent members. Is it just, is it rea- 
sonable that it should be so ? 

"I have written this article, not for controversy, 
but because I feel that we have reached a period in 
our history when certain questions must be settled, or 
we shall suffer great loss. Any one who may see dif- 
ferently from myself ought to speak or write out his 
views, not in the spirit of controversy, but independ- 
ently, as if nothing had been written. Write in the 
fear of God. If I were seeking for favors, I would 
keep still, but I love the United Brethren Church. It 
has had my feeble labors for more than forty years ; 
for the time to come it shall have my prayers and 
sympathies. Oh, that I had done more and better 
work for the Church! Within her pale I expect to 
die. As Dr. Davis said to me a short time since, so 
say I now, f I cannot afford to die with the least bitter 
feeling in my heart toward any living being on earth.' 
May the dear Master still lead us." 

This paper aroused the forces on both sides to a 



The Battle of the Giants 289 

more intense activity. It proposed to submit the 
constitution to a vote of the membership, and, to the 
radical wing of the Church, that looked like tamper- 
ing with the ark of God. If the controversy once 
began, no one could tell where the end would be. 
Within a few days (March 11), Dr. Davis replied 
to it through the columns of the Church paper : "It 
is certainly true that the change proposed is revolu- 
tion, although it may not be sought by unconstitu- 
tional methods. The constitution may be changed 
peacefully or violently, but in either case the change 
proposed is radical and dangerous. My heart is made 
sad when I look over some of the remarks and recom- 
mendations found in 'The Outlook.' My hope and 
prayer is, that these influences may be counteracted 
in some way." He writes again (March 25), when 
he aims to give the personal opinions of Bishop 
Weaver, as he interprets them, and then says, "If I 
-do not misjudge, hundreds and thousands of our peo- 
ple have already said, 'We do not want the change 
proposed in 'The Outlook/ nor do we intend to have 
it." 

In the Telescope for April 8, Bishop Weaver re- 
plies to a previous article by Dr. Davis. He thinks 
it no sin to be a reformer. The fathers were not 
inspired when they made our present constitution. 
They did nothing that was too sacred to be touched. 
"If I were ever honest in a declaration, I am honest 
in this; namely, that we are not winning as many 
souls for J esus with our present sweeping law against 
secrecy as we should if it were less rigid." Bishop 



19 



290 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

Weaver favored submitting the constitution to the- 
people, because he thought that would be the most 
satisfactory way of settling the difficulty. Then, 
again, it had never been before them for rejection or 
adoption in its present form. "J hold it is the pre- 
rogative of any General Conference subsequent to 
1841 to change, modify, or rescind any part of the 
constitution that was put there by the General Con- 
ference of 1841. I ask Dr. Davis and Brother Floyd 
to look this squarely in the face." Concerning the 
minor orders, "I further say that, unless it can be 
proved that secrecy is a sin per se, it is difficult to 
prove that every little temporary order should be ex- 
cluded from Church fellowship. Why did the doctor 
not prove that secrecy is a sin per se? He would 
have been confronted by himself. Sixteen years ago, 
at Lebanon, he was chairman of the committee that 
reported a rule on secrecy which he advocated as the 
very thing needed, and which, of course, was in per- 
fect harmony with the views of the fathers. That was 
very different from the present case. Then, again, 
eight years ago, the doctor voted squarely against his 
own will by voting for our present rule. Now, after 
all these changes that the doctor has helped to make, 
he finds very grave fault with me because I venture to 
suggest that some changes might be of advantage to 
our Church growth. If, after careful and prayerful 
consideration, a majority should conclude that the 
constitution and our rule on secrecy should remain as 
they are, I will most cheerfully submit, and continue 
to work as hard as I can to advance the interests of 



The Battle of the Giants 



291 



the Church. What cannot be done legally and by 
the voice of the majority should not be done at all." 

In the Telescope for April 15, Dr. Davis returned 
to the attack. Bishop Weaver had said, "In my prin- 
ciple I am to-day where I was forty years ago." To 
this Dr. Davis took exception, and quoted at length 
from a lecture delivered by Bishop Weaver in 1862, 
aiming to show that his teachings then and now are 
not the same : "If the bishop (Weaver) will still say 
that his views have not been changed, I will admit 
it for the honor of his good name, but must insist 
upon it that his words and record have deceived us." 

In the paper for April 29, Bishop Weaver an- 
swered Dr. Davis's charge that he had changed since 
1862. He proceeds to show that the laws have been 
constantly changing: "Twenty-four years ago, it is 
said, offending members should be dealt with as in 
case of other immoralities. Sixteen years ago, our 
law gave them six months to sever connection with 
the order. Our present law gives no time at all, ex- 
cept in the minor orders. Is it a greater sin for an 
individual to change his views as to method than it 
is for the Church to change ? In principle I am the 
same as I was forty years ago. I have changed my 
views as to method. The doctor and other friends of 
the present law have helped to change our method 
again and again. Did he change in principle every 
time he helped to change our method ? Which is the 
greater sinner, the doctor or I ? 

"In this discussion, I have aimed to be frank. I 
have no personal ends to serve. My time for active 



292 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



work in the Church will soon be past. My one object 
is, and has been to find the true road to successful 
church work. We are not succeeding as we ought. 
This quadrennial term will soon close, and our in- 
crease will not be more than about seven thousand. 
Tens of thousands have been converted at our altars 
in these four years, while other churches have gath- 
ered much of the fruit of our labors. One reason for 
this state of things is our present method of opposing 
secret orders. Our law not only shuts the door 
against all members of every little beneficiary order, 
and sends them away, but it turns their friends away. 
In a word, our rigid law antagonizes the majority of 
those outside of our pale, so that we cannot win men 
from the lodge nor gather them into the Church" 
{Telescope, August 29, 1885). 

The editor of the Telescope, in a summing up of 
the situation (April 29), under the title of "Our 
Church Legislation," after speaking of the different 
opinions in the Church, the difficulties that have been 
met, and have hindered our progress, thus forecasts 
the case : "Our whole statement of law is destined to 
be changed. The generation is now born that will 
take our confession of faith, or creed, and constitu- 
tion, and make a new statement of them, embodying 
all the essentials we now have in different forms, and 
with fuller amplifications. Those whose hairs are 
gray may oppose it, if they will, but it will be of no 
avail. A progressive church comes upon new eras; 
we have already passed several of these epochs. Age 
after age will put its own interpretation upon the 



The Battle of the Giants 



293 



application of great facts and truths and principles 
to church activities. The essential features of church 
polity will abide, but we cannot stop the current of 
church life any more than we can arrest Niagara." 

Dr. Davis again replied to Bishop Weaver, and, 
on May 13, the latter answered. It was his last ar- 
ticle before the matter came to the General Confer- 
ence, when it must be decided. After defining his 
position against the doctor's attacks, he concludes: 
"One thing remains as a fact, thousands of our peo- 
ple, among whom are many leading ministers, have 
changed their views concerning our legislation on this 
question ; men who are out in the field and who have 
to meet this question in the face, are the men who 
know most about the practical working of our law. 
Shut out from the main centers of influence, living on 
half salaries, and seeing much of the fruit of their 
hard labors joining some other denominations, have 
caused many to change their views. A brother who 
but a short time ago was a radical wrote to me, a few 
days since, that three prominent ministers in his con- 
ference had joined another church, and that he and 
another man were going soon — starved out. An old 
itinerant, who was a delegate, and voted for our pres- 
ent law, wrote me, last week, that he was forced to 
retire from the active work. In eight years of hard 
itinerating, he had received less than two hundred 
dollars a year. Shut out from the centers of influ- 
ence, and saving nobody from the lodge, had fully sat- 
isfied him that our legislation was wrong. With our 
earnest prayer that our dear Father in heaven may 



294 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

guide us all aright, I now close this article and this 
discussion, unless something new is presented." 

For the first five months of the year, scarcely an 
issue of the Telescope came from the press in which 
one or more communications on the secrecy question 
did not appear. They were on both sides of the ques- 
tion. We have not space to quote from them, but 
we speak of it here as one of the indications showing 
a general unrest. 

The General Conference convened, at the time ap- 
pointed, at Fostoria, Ohio. The bishops' address, 
prepared, in the main, by Bishop Kephart, made the 
following suggestions: "(1) Should you determine 
that it (the constitution) is in your hands, then trans- 
fer the whole from the realm of constitutional law 
to the field of legislative enactment, which would be 
to expunge the whole question from the constitution, 
and bring it into the field of legislative enactment, to 
be handled as the Church, through her representa- 
tives, may determine from time to time. (2) That 
you limit the prohibitory feature of your enactment 
to combinations, secret and open, to which the Church 
believes a Christian cannot belong. (3) Should you 
decide that this constitutional question is beyond your 
control and in the hands of the whole society, then 
submit the above proposition, properly formulated, 
to a vote of the whole Church, and let a two-thirds 
vote of those voting be the authoritative voice of the 
Church on the subject." 

The whole matter was referred to a committee, 
wkich, after due deliberation, reported, recommend- 



The Battle of the Giants 



295 



ing the appointment of a commission of twenty-seven 
persons, consisting of the bishops and an equal num- 
ber of ministers and laymen, who should revise the 
confession of faith under certain limitations. When 
that work was done, it should be submitted to a vote 
of the whole membership of the Church for approval 
or disapproval, and if two-thirds of those voting 
should affirm, it should thenceforward be the consti- 
tution and confession of faith of the Church. Eleven 
of the members of the committee signed the report. 

Upon a motion to adopt, the majority then began 
one of the most interesting and able discussions that 
have probably ever occurred in connection with any of 
our conferences. It was really a battle of the giants. 
In the main, the proprieties becoming such an occa- 
sion were well maintained. The discussions continued 
for the larger part of two days. Men had come there 
■expecting it, prepared for it in a sense, and, in the 
judgment of all, it was a crisis time for the Church. 
The radical wing, so-called, felt as though the passage 
of that report would almost unsettle the very foun- 
dations of the Church. The liberals, on the other 
hand, saw in the adoption of this report, a relief from 
the intense radicalism which, in their judgment, had 
greatly hindered the growth of the Church, and the 
prospect of a richer, fuller life. It is not strange that 
the result was watched with intense interest. On its 
settlement, whichever way it went, hung everlasting 
results. The writer was present, and listened to these 
delegates making brief explanations as they recorded 
their votes and helped determine their own destiny, 



296 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



as well as that of the Church. When the call was 
finished, the bishops announced that seventy-eight had 
voted in favor, and forty-two against. Bishop Weaver 
voted in the affirmative. 

After the vote was taken, Bishop Weaver offered a 
very tender prayer, asking forgiveness if they had 
gone astray, asking divine guidance and direction in 
all truth, and praying that as they could not see each 
other's thoughts or motives, they might have charity 
for each other and brotherly love. 

Just before the prayer, Bishop Weaver, who was 
in the chair when the vote was taken, said : "I wish 
there could have been a plan by which there would 
have been no dissenting voice, but it has not been so 
for a number of years. During the past twenty years,, 
we have been eddying around, and we have never all 
been able to come to one place. We are about as near 
it now as at any time in the past. I now ask that we 
take it to our hearts, and look over it, and pray over 
it, and look to the dear, blessed Master to lead us." 

In the election of bishops, Bishop Weaver received 
seventy-five votes, Bishop Kephart seventy-two, 
Bishop Castle fifty-one, and Bishop Dickson fifty 
votes. Later, Bishop Glossbrenner was made bishop 
emeritus. This was Bishop Weaver's election for the. 
sixth term. 

When the work of the conference was done, Bishop 
Weaver made some touching remarks concerning 
Bishop Glossbrenner. When a man enters the field 
and begins the ministerial life, it is an occasion of 
great interest to him. So it is when the sun of life 



The Battle of the Giants 



297 



is getting low, as it is with Brother Glossbrenner. He 
remembers, and he believes some others will remem- 
ber the good work he has done and the help they have 
all received. 

It was voted, the bishops should not be districted as 
before, but should rotate. Bishop Weaver, the first 
year, held the conferences in the Ohio District. On 
his way home from conference, he stopped over and 
preached in Dayton, Ohio, and later in Elkhart, In- 
diana. In July, he dedicated a church at North Man- 
chester, and, although not very strong, secured the 
three thousand dollars needed. He dedicated a 
church at Bowlusville, August 2; was present the 
same month at a camp-meeting held near Lewisburg, 
Ohio. He moved to Dayton, Ohio, early in August, 
and held the first of his fall conferences, Miami, in 
Summit Street Church, Dayton, Ohio, August 26, 
1885. 

The Telescope for June, immediately following 
the close of the General Conference, had a communi- 
cation from his pen, entitled "We Know in Part." 
He, no doubt, saw the signs of the coming storm, and 
hoped to turn it aside. The essence of the article 
was, that, concerning essential truths that are re- 
vealed, we must contend earnestly; "but when we 
come to the subordinate and minor truths relating 
to ecclesiastical polity, not clearly set forth in the 
gospel, we should be careful lest, in our zeal, we be- 
come too dogmatical. The Scriptures do not give us 
in detail any form of ecclesiastical government. 
Hence it is that good and wise men often differ in 



298 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



their opinion as to what is the best thing to do. Upon 
two things, I presume, all can agree : First, that every 
part and particle of Church machinery should be ad- 
justed, so that, in the end, it will bring the greatest 
possible number of souls to Christ and heaven. Sec- 
ond, that so long as we can only see and know in 
part, we can well afford fervent charity among our- 
selves." In August, appeared another on "Manner 
of Spirit." "It is well to be zealously affected in a 
good cause, but we must always be sure that we move 
by the dictations of a right spirit." 

There had been a number of articles in the Tele- 
scope, more or less reflecting on the work to be done 
by the commission. On August 26, he writes a five- 
column article, giving the history of the constitu- 
tion and confession of faith, the propositions made 
to amend at various times ; the Constitution of the 
United States, indeed, of almost every State in 
the Union had been amended, "and now, after forty- 
four years, may not a Christian Church amend and 
improve its constitution and confession of faith? 
Have we learned nothing in all these years % Look at 
our Discipline to-day. Almost every rule in it has 
been changed; new sections have been added, until 
it looks but little as it did forty-four years ago. Now 
if the exigencies of time and place have made so 
many changes in our general rules necessary, may 
not the same be true with regard to our confession 
of faith and constitution ?" 

He follows this, on September 2, with an article 
on "Church Power." It is not in numbers, wealth, 



The Battle of the Giants 



299 



or education, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. 
We may make good rules and regulations, but these 
are not enough. The different forms of church polity 
show that all people cannot agree. If we cannot make 
all men think alike, we must allow them to differ. 
"I have some faith in law, but vastly more in the 
power and influence of the Holy Spirit to lead men 
away from wrong-doing. What the gospel fails to 
reform will not likely be reformed. Give us good, 
wholesome church rules, based, as nearly as may be, 
on the principles of the gospel of Christ, and then 
give us the enduement of the Holy Spirit, and we 
shall go on to victory." 

He missed a train at Indianapolis, and had to 
wait four hours. He did not like waiting, never had 
liked it, and didn't think he could, very well. This 
delay, and the effort to cultivate patience, led him to 
philosophize a little : "We do not, and cannot always 
know what is best for us; but we do not know how 
it would have been if we had gone some other way. 
We know something about the way over which we 
have come, but nothing about the way over which we 
intended to go; but a wise and merciful Father di- 
rected otherwise, and thus delivered us from the dan- 
ger. AmQng the ten thousand revelations that will 
thrill the souls of the saved in heaven, but few, if any, 
will call forth greater gratitude than a knowledge of 
the great and tender care of the Father in leading 
them through the dangers of this world." 

He called a meeting of the commission, to meet 
in Dayton, Ohio, on November 17. He showed it 



300 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



would not have been wise for the General Confer- 
ence to have undertaken to formulate amendments. 
They had no time to do this, but when the commis- 
sion would meet, and would take time, and make 
suitable amendments, and the people adopt them, 
these, then, would become the law of the Church. 

In November, he writes : "Through the abundant 
mercy of our kind Father in heaven, I have been 
able to complete my round of fall conferences on 
this (Ohio) district. With one or two exceptions, it 
has been one of the most pleasant I have been per- 
mitted to attend. There were differences of opinion 
on certain questions of Church polity ; but, in spite of 
this, the conferences rose above it, and enjoyed gra- 
cious seasons of refreshing from the presence of the 
Lord. Many of these ministers made a new conse- 
cration of themselves to the blessed work of soul-sav- 
ing." He follows this with an earnest appeal for 
better pay. Ministers with families cannot devote 
their whole time to the work, and live on two or three 
hundred dollars a year. The men must be better sup- 
ported, or they will be driven from the field. 

The next issue, about the middle of December, con- 
tained an article on "Brotherly Kindness," setting 
forth some of the things done by the General Con- 
ference of 1873, and which would have been effective 
if the bishops could have decided the meaning of 
"two-thirds." This was followed by a Christmas 
article on "Glory to God in the Highest," which 
ended the work of the year — a year destined to be one 
of the most remarkable in all our history. 



CHAPTEK XVII. 



The Work of the Commission Explained and 
Defended.— 1886-1888. 

Of the twenty-seven members of the Church com- 
mission, twenty-five came together in Dayton, Ohio, 
on the day appointed, November 11, 1885. Bishop 
Weaver, as senior bishop, called the body to order, 
and, after devotional exercises, made a brief and im- 
pressive address on the nature and importance of 
their work, urging them to have patience with each 
other, and, above all, to seek the guidance of the 
Holy Spirit. It was agreed, the bishops should pre- 
side in the order of their seniority. They were in 
session about six days. When the work of revision 
was done, they provided a plan for submitting the 
whole matter to the people. It was agreed that the 
vote should be taken in November, 1888, giving the 
space of three years for a discussion of the proposed 
changes. A general board of tellers was appointed, 
of which Bishop Weaver was chairman. All the re- 
ports were to be in by January 1, 1889, so the tellers 
could make report to the board of bishops by January 
15, 1889. The report of the commission was pref- 
aced by an address from the bishops, signed by all 
except Bishop Dickson. 

The Christian Conservator was started in the main 

301 



302 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



to oppose the work of the commission. Its work was 
attacked through the columns of the Telescope by 
those opposed to it, and as earnestly defended by 
others, and among the most earnest of opposers was 
Bishop Weaver. The opposition continued even after 
the vote was taken. 

In the Telescope for January 13, 1886, there ap- 
peared an article from Bishop Weaver's pen in de- 
fense of the last General Conference, which he en- 
titles "A Few Facts/' showing that the things which 
the radicals specially complained of in the last Gen- 
eral Conference had been done by themselves a num- 
ber of times before. The next number contained an 
article, entitled "In a Short Time." It was appro- 
priate to the beginning of the new year. The days 
are passing, and in a short time we shall all be in 
eternity ; how little we know of our future condition, 
but soon we shall know all. In the next number there 
appeared another on the subject, "The Lord Is With 
Us," suggested by the fact that in some revivals re- 
ferred to in the paper of the previous week, over one 
thousand persons had been added to the Church. 
When his birthday occurred, he recorded the follow- 
ing: 

"To-day, February 23, 1886, I am sixty-two years 
of age. God has been very good to me. He has led 
me in ways that I had not known, and that I did not 
choose. In a few days, it will be forty years since 
I received my first appointment. Through the bless- 
ing of God, I have not been located any time for 
forty years ; never very rugged in health, but nearly 



Work of the Commission 



303 



always able to go. Many others have done better 
work than I have been able to do, but I have worked 
as hard as I could. I have more than once left my 
home when I hardly expected ever to return alive; 
but my engagements were out, and I resolved to meet 
them or die on the way. In the twenty-one years I 
have served the Church in my present relation, I 
have not failed to meet all my conferences, except in 
one instance, when I went to the Pacific Coast, and 
had one of the conferences held by Bishop Gloss- 
brenner. 

"What awaits me in the future I know not, except 
that I must die, but when and where I know not. The 
road may be short ; in the very nature of things, it 
cannot be long ; but I will trust in Him who has led 
me thus far. Do you ask what I would do if I were 
back forty years, and had my life to live over? I 
would be more humble, earnest, and devoted; but I 
would not do anything else but preach Jesus and him 
crucified. Do you ask what I expect to do in the 
future ? So long as I am able to stand I will preach 
Jesus and him crucified. When too old to stand, I 
will trust in Jesus and the Church, and wait until 
my change comes. 

"May I give a word of exhortation? Having 
passed over the road, I know where I made my great- 
est failings. It was in the fact that I did not, in the 
earlier part of my ministry, make a full and complete 
consecration. God cannot use a divided man as he 
can use one who is wholly devoted to him. There- 
fore, I say put all on the altar; burn the bridges 



304 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



behind you, launch out into the deep sea, trusting 
in Jesus. 

"How have I fared during these forty years of itin- 
erant life \ Much better than I deserved. I have not 
become rich; but I was poor when I started, and I 
have held my own all the way along. I have more beds 
to sleep in, and more tables to sit down to than many 
rich men have, and all for nothing. These good soft 
beds and fine tables are all furnished at somebody 
else's expense, and don't cost me a cent. When I 
die, if I have not a dollar left, my brethren will bury 
me decently. I have faith in God and in the Church. 

"When I first saw the light, there were thirteen 
of use, including father and mother ; now only five re- 
main. I am the youngest. In the near future we 
shall all be gone ; but the morning cometh when there 
will be such a reunion of scattered families as this 
world never saw." 

In the issue of April 7, he comes to the defense of 
those who have changed their views as to certain 
forms of Church polity. He had been found fault 
with because he favored a different way of dealing 
with the question, from what he favored years before. 
He takes up the various issues of our book of Disci- 
pline, and shows how we have changed it. Dr. Davis 
had helped to change the polity of the Church on edu- 
cational questions. Bishop Edwards had changed his 
views as to instrumental music. We have changed 
our polity a number of times concerning the treatment 
of the secrecy question. "I suggest that those who 
have never favored any change of any rule in our 



Work of the Commission 



305 



Discipline appoint a convention at some convenient 
place, and then all of that class meet and adopt reso- 
lutions condemning every man who has, at any time, 
changed his views on any question of church polity. 
The fathers are all dead, and it is well they are, for 
none of them could be members of such a convention. 
This convention is only for those who have never, in 
thought or deed, favored any change in any rule of 
the Discipline. I presume it would be an interesting 
gathering of live, progressive men. 

"Any man who has not changed his views on any; 
question of church polity within the last twenty years, 
is hereby invited to fling stones at me by day and by 
night But any man who, in thought, word, or deed, 
has changed his views with respect to any rule in the 
Discipline, is hereby kindly invited to ask some one 
to fling stones at him. With all my imperfections 
and mistakes in life, — and they are many, — I do 
most solemnly avow that I have not unkind feelings 
toward any man on earth, though he may think dif- 
ferently from what I do. I cannot afford to die with 
malice in my heart to any man, living or dead." In 
the issue of our Church paper for April 14, under 
"The Church and Secret Societies," he discusses the 
question, Should all members of all secret societies 
be excluded from church fellowship ? and, in discuss- 
ing, incidentally shows the value of what the com- 
mission recommmended : 

"Our trouble, for the most part, has grown out of 
the fact that, under our constitution as it is, we could 
not discriminate between the orders. A large ma- 
20 



306 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



jority of our ministers and members do not believe 
that all members of all secret orders should be ex- 
cluded from church fellowship. I am betraying no 
trust when I say that scores of radicals have told me 
that they would be glad if some discrimination could 
be made. Now I insist upon it that some one who 
is capable take up this line of thought and show us 
that all the members of all secret orders should be 
excluded from church fellowship. This question set- 
tled beyond a doubt, and all our trouble is at an end. 
Denouncing men and denouncing the acts of the last 
General Conference will not answer the question. 
Years ago, when the societies were less numerous, and 
before I had taken time to study the nature of secret 
orders in general, I thought the only way was to 
exclude all, indiscriminately. Since then many bene- 
ficiary societies have sprung up, and many which 
are short-lived, so that I have changed my views with 
respect to the proper attitude of the Church toward 
these orders. If I thought that the Church could 
win more souls to Christ and heaven by indiscrimi- 
nately excluding all members of all secret societies 
from its pale, I would advocate it with all my might ; 
but I do not believe it, and therefore favor such 
modification in our organic law as will permit the 
General Conference, from time to time, to adopt 
such rules as it may deem wise and proper. There 
is no form of secrecy more detestable than for a man 
to cover up his heart, his honest convictions, and cow- 
ardly advocate something else." 

In the issue for April 21, is an extract from an 



Work of the Commission 



307 



address made before the United Brethren Ministerial 
Association on "How We Shall Make the Fruits of 
Our Kevivals Permanent?' 7 He recommends: (1) 
The pastor insist on thorough work; (2) extra serv- 
ices should not be closed suddenly; (3) young con- 
verts should be carefully instructed; (4) much pas- 
toral labor is needed; (5) converts must be encour- 
aged to attend means of grace; (6) attention must be 
given to reading matter; (7) encourage secret devo- 
tion; (8) find something for each one to do. 

Early in April, he left Dayton, in the midst of a 
snow-storm, for Ontario Conference. After much 
difficulty, he reached Detroit, to find two feet of snow 
there, and all trains, so far as he could learn, lost, 
and Ontario Conference one hundred and seventy- 
five miles away. He remained over night, took a 
fresh start, went sixty-five miles, and again ran into 
a snow-drift where there had not been one for twenty 
years. Securing an additional engine, they kept 
working away for four long hours, and all that time, 
he says, "there was on board six feet four and a half 
inches of hungry humanity that could not get any 
dinner, not even a cup of coffee. The conference was 
reached, however, and proved to be an interesting ses< 
sion." 

On May 5, he makes the annual report for the Ohio 
District for 1885-86: There were 278 itinerants, 
159 local preachers, 38,990 members, an increase of 
2,209 for the year. "During the past five months, 
several thousand have been added to the Church, 
which are not included in this report. It has been a 



308 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



year of great prosperity. The ministers, for the most 
part, have worked hard, and have gathered in a rich 
harvest. So far as I have the means of knowing, the 
revivals have been thorough. Regeneration has been 
insisted upon; nearly all who have been received 
into the Church have professed a change of heart; 
with little exception, peace and harmony prevail." 

Those who were opposed to any change of constitu- 
tion insisted, in their public writings, that we should 
"adhere closely to the constitution and confession of 
faith unchanged, as they descended to us from the 
fathers." Bishop Weaver, in his inimitable way, in- 
quires who are meant by "the fathers." Usually he 
has included in this list Otterbein and Boehm and 
Guething, but the Discipline, confession of faith, and 
constitution did not descend from them. Boehm and 
Guething died in 1812, and Otterbein in 1813. The 
Discipline and confession of faith were adopted in 
1815, and the constitution in 1841. So these men 
could not be the fathers referred to. They could not 
be Newcomer, Draksel, or Crum, for these were all 
in heaven before the adoption of the constitution. 

"The United Brethren Church, under God, is a 
growth. Step by step she has steadily advanced. As 
higher degrees of light from the divine Word fell 
upon her, she changed her method of work, but always 
maintained her fundamental doctrine and repub- 
lican principles of government. To-day the Church 
is almost a unit on the great doctrines of Christianity. 
Our difference of opinion is upon rules of discipline. 
Whatever others may think, and whatever they do, 



Work of the Commission 



309 



I am firm in my convictions that God, in his own 
good time, will lead the Church out of, and beyond 
these differences into a broad field of usefulness." 

He attended conference in Dunkirk, Ohio, in the 
fall of 1885, and was asked by one or two men if he 
would come and give them a lecture during the win- 
ter. He consented if they would make arrangements. 
In due time, he gave the lecture, and found that the 
men who had secured him were members of the 
G. A. E. The lecture was in the United Brethren 
church. A few soldiers were present, but there were 
not many in the county. They had no regalia on, but 
were there as citizens, like other men. Very soon his 
opponents were circulating that he was going about 
lecturing for the G. A. K., meaning to teach thereby 
that he was favoring secret societies. After giving 
this explanation of the affair, he says: "I suppose 
from this time on we will not dare to take any part 
in the decoration of soldiers' graves. It will be a little 
risky even to pray for soldiers, unless we make excep- 
tion of the G. A. R. I have several times preached 
at funerals for members of secret societies, but from 
this on I must not do it, lest some one will publish 
that I am going about preaching in favor of secrecy. 
Those who, a few days ago, took part in the memorial 
services had better look out. Perhaps we had better 
not shake hands with an old soldier, unless we find 
out for sure that he is not a member of the G. A. R. 
I live near the Soldiers' Home. I see many soldiers 
about, every day ; some with one limb off, some with 
an arm gone, some blind, others crippled in many 



310 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



ways. I suppose I had better keep on the opposite 
side of the street. So it goes." 

Rev. I. L. Buchwalter, in a communication to the 
press, intimated that the constitution should not only 
oppose secrecy, but discriminate between the orders. 
Bishop Weaver showed that this could not be done, 
for what would be appropriate this year would not be 
next. Constitutions are hard to change. Better 
adopt principles, and then let the General Conference 
apply them. He then closes his reply with this beau- 
tiful sentiment: 

"Personally, I have no quarrel with any one. I 
cannot afford it. I have my convictions as to what 
is for the best interests of the Church. Some very 
wicked things have been said and written about me, to 
which I have not replied, and probably never shall. 
I have faith in God and our people. If what I have 
contended for is wrong, the Lord will overrule it. I 
have not, in word or deed, intentionally injured any 
one. If those who have said the most bitter things 
about me should ever be in distress, in either body or 
mind, I am ready to render them any assistance in 
my power. The Judge of all the earth will do right." 

The contest over the work of the commission went 
on. A number of articles appeared, both for and 
against, in the columns of the Telescope for 1886, 
from the pens of able writers, but, after all, Bishop 
Weaver was expected to bear the brunt of the oppo- 
sition. A number of conventions were held by the 
opposition, in which the Church, the General Confer- 
ence, and the Telescope were attacked. Utterances 



Work of the Commission 



311 



were made shadowing forth a purpose on the part of 
some to break off from the Church. A meeting was 
called to assemble within the bounds of White Kiver 
Conference, at which time it was contemplated to take 
decided steps toward separation. 

A paper was sent to Bishop Weaver, signed bj a 
number of the members in one of the conferences, 
protesting against the bishop assigned to preside 
at the coming session. The grounds upon which 
it was based were that he had endorsed the work 
of the commission; in other words, he was will- 
ing to abide by the act and decision of the Gen- 
eral Conference. Bishop Weaver answered the pro- 
test kindly, in substance, as follows: "(1) Nine 
years ago, if a bishop had refused to abide by the acts 
of the General Conference, these very brethren would 
have called him a rebel. (2) If we are not governed 
by the decrees of the General Conference, by whose 
authority are we to be governed? (3) If an officer 
declares he will not carry out the laws and rules of the 
General Conference, he should be deposed from office. 
(4) When men say they will not abide by the laws 
of the General Conference, they are in a state of re- 
bellion. (5) Some say they will abide by the Dis- 
cipline of 1881, but that is dead; if we can go back 
that long, we can go back forty years; a few years 
ago, such talk would have been called disloyal. (6) 
This protest is not based on official delinquency, nor 
want of ability, nor immorality, but because of loy- 
alty; just think of it! (7) There is no judicial au- 
thority above the General Conference, (8) If a 



312 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

bishop would announce that he would not be governed 
by the laws and rules of the General Conference, what 
would he be governed by? (9) We cannot reject a 
part of it; we are bound to all, or nonei (10) It is 
an easy thing to sign a protest, but men should con- 
sider well the grounds on which the protest stands." 

He was at the Stoverdale, Pennsylvania, camp- 
meeting on the third of August, He had thus far 
attended three, and had two yet before him. He 
heard Mr. and Mrs. West present the interests of the 
Woman's Missionary Association, and this led him to 
say some very kind things about the work: "Theso 
women just beat the world. They go along and go 
ahead as if they had some grand enterprise on hand. 
They pay but little attention to vexed questions. They 
seem to be wrapped up in the one idea of saving souls. 
I believe I should as soon take their chances for 
heaven as the chances of those who, in one way or 
another, have stood in the way of the blessed cause." 

When his work was done here, he returned to Day- 
ton, Ohio. He soon after held Parkersburg Confer- 
ence, September 15, at Pennsboro, West Virginia, and 
later Allegheny Conference, at Conemaugh, Pennsyl- 
vania; East German at Shamokin, Pennsylvania,. 
September 30. 

The Tennessee Conference had been held at White 
Pine. He speaks hopefully of the conference, and 
of the men who are trying to build it up. He writes 
from Lebanon, Kentucky: "I am in usual luck to- 
day. Peached this city at four o'clock this morning. 
Here I must remain twelve hours, in order to get a 



Work of the Commission 



train leading in the direction of the Kentucky Con- 
ference, which meets this week. I have twenty miles 
by rail, then twenty by stage, and several miles in 
some other way. This is extra work. Bishop Dick- 
son was to hold this conference, but he made rather 
a poor mouth about it, and so, as I had to go to Ten- 
nessee, I agreed to hold it for him. The only diffi- 
culty that may grow out of it will be in dividing the 
funds. I trust we shall have no quarrel. 

"But, notwithstanding my long delay at this place, 
I can turn it to pretty good advantage. There is a 
circus that shows here to-day, and I have never been 
to one in my life, and nobody hereabouts knows me, 
and — well, you can imagine the rest The proces- 
sion has just passed by. I saw the elephant with my 
own eyes. Then I saw a dog, a wolf, and the pictures 
of lots of other animals. But the finest picture of all 
was the crowd that followed the procession — all sizes, 
ages, colors, men leading little boys and girls, women 
with infants in their arms, pushing, jamming, and 
crowding along; many of them poorly clad, but, no 
matter, they are going to the show. Families which 
are sorely in need of bread and clothing are jostling 
along in the crowd, with no thought that will rise 
an inch above an elephant's back. They will spend 
their last cent to see a few men and women act the 
fool. 

"A good place this is to study human nature. I 
may be a poor judge of human nature. Perhaps I 
am like a certain judge in his first charge to a jury. 
'Gentlemen/ he said, 'this is new business to me. 



314 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



This is the first time I ever charged a jury ; but you 
have heard all the testimony from both sides; you 
have heard the law as explained and defended by the 
lawyers. ISTow if you believe what the attorney for 
the plaintiff said, you will give the case in his favor. 
If you believe what the attorney for the defendant 
says, you will give the case in his favor ; but if you 
are like me, and don't believe what either one said, 
then I '11 be blamed if I know what you will do.' So 
I am puzzled to know what to do with human nature 
when I see it developed as I do this day." 

The month of November finds him at the* old home- 
stead, concerning which he writes as follows : 

"In a recent visit to eastern Ohio, I determined to 
visit the place of my birth. In company with John 
Moore, of Carrollton, Ohio, a brother-in-law, we set 
out for the place. The day was cold and stormy, 
but my anxiety to see the old home made the trip 
much easier than it otherwise would have been. About 
fifty years have come and gone since I left it. Then 
I was only a boy ; am I the same person I was then ? 
Xow I am old and gray-headed. In spite of all these 
changes, I feel I am the same person. Here is the 
old farm. Here I spent my boyhood days. Some 
things are the same, but how much is changed. What 
havoc time has made of the old orchard. Here are 
the wild cherry, chestnut, gum, and one solitary hick- 
ory, where I gathered nuts, long ago. Here is the 
spring where I used to slake my thirst, and there the 
lower spring where we watered the stock. Over there 
in that field I used to hoe corn with heavy hoes made 



Work of the Commission 



315 



by the village blacksmith. In that field I gathered 
sheaves, and in that meadow spread the grass, and 
pitched and raked the hay into heaps. Here is the 
corner-stone in the foundation where the house used 
to stand. As I stood on that stone, thronging mem- 
ories came rushing back. Around that old hearth 
we used to sit and spend the long winter evenings — 
father, mother, brothers, and sisters. When the older 
ones that were married would come home to spend an 
evening, being the youngest in the circle, I was a 
happy boy. Only five of us are left, and we must 
soon make that mysterious journey. Are those who 
have gone from me lost forever ? I cannot, I will not 
believe it. . . . What my boyish hopes were in 
the years long gone, I need not tell. Suffice it to 
say, I have not attained unto the ideal man. I have 
not traveled the road I intended to travel. Maybe 
the other road would have been more difficult than the 
one over which I have come. . . . I called to see 
my old schoolmaster, Mr. S. Highland. He is now 
not far from fourscore years old. At first, he did not 
know me ; but it only took a moment to brush away 
the dust from the page of memory, and all was clear, 
especially when I reminded him that once and again 
he had taken the liberty to knock the dust from my 
roundabout by means of a birch stick. Along this 
line memory is true to her trust. 

"My time is up, and I must go. One more glance 
at the old homestead — good-by, I shall see thee no 
more. Father, mother, brothers, sisters, who have 
crossed the river, good-by. We shall never meet again 



316 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



around that old family hearth, but in the morning it 
shall be well If the sneering skeptic wants to go 
down into the dark waters of eternal forgetfulne-ss. I 
cannot help it ; but as for me and mine we will live 
and die in the God-inspiring hope that in the morning 
it shall be well" 

He was advised to take a little rest. He said: 
"'This is the first time in forty years that I have done 
so. My fall work has taxed me a little more than 
usual." His year ended with the following earnest 
appeal : 

"The past year has been a year of wonderful reviv- 
als. Thousands of souls were gathered into the fold 
of Christ. Never in the historv of the United Breth- 
ren Church have there been clearer evidences of the 
Lord's willingness to help us than now. Shall we not 
accept these indications, and work as never before ? 
The fall conferences, with, but few exceptions, were 
not only harmonious, but spiritual. The ministers 
and laymen, where they had lay delegates, went out- 
more determined than ever to save souls. I am pray- 
ing for and expecting fifty thousand souls for Jesus 
this year. The blaster is willing, the Holy Spirit is 
willing, and the angels are willing. Are you ready 
to unite with the heavenly host in an onward move- 
ment for souls ?" 

The year 1SS7 finds him busy with pen and voice, 
doing all he can to prepare the Church to properly 
vote on the amended constitution. He kept up a very 
extended correspondence, appealing to men. allaying 
their prejudices, helping them to understand the 



Work of the Commission 



317 



points at issue, and, in this way, he did very much 
to swell the vote when finally taken. During the 
year, at intervals, appeared articles in the Telescope 
on "The General Conference of 1873/' "The Work 
of the Commission," "That Thursday Night," "The 
Constitution of 1837 and 1841," "Questions An- 
swered/' "'Will It Stand the Test ?" and others. 
While interested in this, he was not forgetful of other 
wants of the Church, but, like a faithful overseer, 
sought to help where help was most needed. Articles 
appeared on "Our Mission Debt," "That Thanksgiv- 
ing Rally," "An Open Letter to the Sisters," "That 
Thank-OfTering." 

Concerning the mission debt of sixty thousand dol- 
lars, and our ability to meet it, he says : "We have 
two hundred thousand members, and if one hundred 
and forty thousand of these did not pay anything, the 
balance would only need to pay one dollar each to pay 
it all off. I would like to have a day set apart, when 
the members of the United Brethren Church would 
get on their religious muscles and give it a lift ; that 
would do ; just one lift, and all would be over so far 
as the debt is concerned. Let us make the coming 
Thanksgiving the time for this." 

During all of these discussions on the work of the 
commission, he kept his temper in spite of many un- 
pleasant insinuations against his supposed vacillation. 
He ended an article, July 13, 1887, with these words : 
"Some things not very complimentary have been said 
about me, because I have advocated these changes, but 
no matter for that. If those who have said the hard- 



318 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



est things will call at my Lome, I will give them the 
best bed and the best dinner my wife and daughters 
can prepare. 'We shall know each other better when 
the mists have cleared away.' " 

On being asked, on one occasion, as to what would 
be the result if a certain vote were had, he said : "The 
whole matter is before the Church, with plenty of 
time to read up on both sides, and when the time 
comes, let the people vote, I have the utmost confi- 
dence in the honesty and intelligence of our people. 
If two-thirds do not want any change, then let us go 
on as heretofore; but if two-thirds think we can do 
more for Christ and his cause by having some change, 
it seems to me that we ought to have it, Whatever be- 
comes of the work of the commission, whether it goes 
up or down, I am a United Brethren. My relation 
to the Church does not turn upon the work of the 
commission. "While I firmly believe that the amended 
constitution and confession of faith, as recommended 
by the commission, are better than what we now 
have, yet, if two-thirds of those that vote do not think 
so, I shall go right on working as hard as I can." 

During the summer, he was in the oil region, from 
which he sent back the following communication : 

"I am not very much of a geologist, but it seems to 
me that if they keep on boring holes in the ground 
and drawing out gas in such vast quantities, by and 
by they will cause a great vacuum down below ; and 
as nature abhors a vacuum, it may be there will be a 
collapse down there, and if that should occur, it might 
produce something of a fracas on the surface ; if not, 



Work of the Commission 



319 



why not % I do not live in an oil region. There is 
gas enough in Dayton, but it is all on the surface, and 
will not do any harm. It will not burn." 

In the fall of this year, he started to visit the Kan- 
sas conferences. After leaving Indianapolis, the cars 
were very much crowded. "I made a rush for a 
seat, but it was no go. Everything was chock full. 
A third train was made up, and between nip and tuck 
I got a seat in a rickety old car where every seat was 
full, two in a seat. The train pulled out. We had 
not gone far until it was found that one train was too 
heavy, and had to be cut in two. In passing through 
a chair-car, hunting for a better seat, I stopped by the 
side of a large, fat man, who filled his chair quite 
full, and a little more, and asked if he would please 
move over a little and give me a part of his seat. At 
first he looked at me with a little surprise, but in 
a moment he caught the idea, and said, 'My friend, 
you can see for yourself that the chance for a seat by 
my side is decidedly thin/ 

"About midnight, it got quite cold in the car I was 
in, and the passengers became very restless. The 
brakeman made an effort to get a fire started, but did 
not succeed. Finally, an old gentleman stood up at 
the other end of the car and said : "Ladies and gen- 
tlemen, I do not know how it is with you ; I only wish 
to speak for myself, personally and individually. 
The fact is, I am cold, but not as cold as I was some 
time ago, for I have been getting mad for a little over 
an hour. If no fire is built, in a short time I will 
be myself again, and then — The fire was soon 



320 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



started, and from that time on we were comfortably 
warm." 

During the year 1888, he met his conferences, 
looked after the work of his district, and, at the same 
time, kept his pen busy giving information to those 
who were anxious to do the best possible thing for 
the Church. Letter after letter went out to those who 
were halting between two opinions, and many of 
them were led to decide for the amended constitution. 
As a specimen of the sort of work he did, one man 
to whom he had earnestly written said to him, years 
after, "Bishop, how is it that when I decided to re- 
main with the Church after it adopted the new con- 
stitution, you did not write to me any more ?" 
"Well, to be frank," said Bishop Weaver, "I had so 
much of that kind of correspondence on hand, that 
when I had you safely landed, I dropped you to look 
after somebody else." One who examines the Tele- 
scope for the year will find article after article on 
this and kindred subjects, such as, "Are Secret Com- 
binations Sinful?" "Will It Stand the Test?" "Our 
Confession of Faith," "Our Mission Debt," "A Few 
Things," "The Xew Creed" (three articles), "Reviv- 
als of Religion," "Conferences of 1837 and 1841," 
"About That TSot,' " "Human Sympathy," with six 
articles on "From Bethlehem to Calvarv and Be- 
yond." 

For some who thought the confession of faith and 
constitution were made perfect in the beginning, he 
sends these farewell words : "At one time, Spain 
held all the regions around and about the Strait of 



Work of the Commission 



321 



Gibraltar. She was proud of her possession, so she 
had the words, 'Ne plus ultra/ which mean 'no more 
beyond/ struck upon her coins. One day, a bold 
spirit struck out beyond the strait, and found a new 
and beautiful world. Convinced of her mistake, she 
struck ne from her coins, but left the words, plus 
ultra, more beyond. It seems to me that some men 
to-day must have a few of these Spanish coins in their 
jacket pockets, and ever and anon take them out and 
read and sing the beautiful words, Ne plus ultra. 
Mind, I do not affirm this, I only say it seems to me. I 
most sincerely wish that every member of the Church 
would take the confession of faith as it is in the Dis- 
cipline and compare it with the amended confession, 
recommended by the commission, and then vote for 
whichever one is the most clear and satisfactory." 

This brought him to the time when the ballots were 
being cast, and the opinion of the Church ascertained. 
He had done his very best to place the matter clearly 
and plainly before the people. If they would prop- 
erly consider the matter and vote intelligently, he 
would cheerfully abide the result. It had been for 
him a very laborious task, demanding all the patience, 
prudence, wisdom, and skill which he was able to com- 
mand. He was looked to as the towering Moses who 
was to lead them into what seemed to him the prom- 
ised land. If there should be a failure, it would not 
be because of any lack of effort on his part. 

The vote was taken in November, 1888. Nearly 
55,000 votes in all were cast. For the confession of 
faith, 50,965 ; against the confession of faith, 3,296 ; 

21 



322 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

for the amended constitution, 50,586; against the 
amended constitution, 3,643; for lay delegation,. 
48,722 ; against lay delegation, 5,618 ; for sections on 
secret societies, 46,900 ; against sections on secret so- 
cieties, 7,273. The Church had approved his judg- 
ment and work 



CHAPTEK XVIII. 



Before the Courts. 

Notwithstanding the fact that a large majority 
of the Church had voted to adopt the revised con- 
fession of faith and improved constitution, it soon 
became evident that our Kadical friends, who had 
left us at York and organized a church of their own 
under the old name, did not intend to submit with- 
out a struggle. It was not long before we had that 
unseemly sight of two branches of the Christian 
church making war upon each other in the courts 
of the land. In order to settle matters as speedily 
as possible, in opposition to the loud boasting of the 
Radical wing that they would soon have possession of 
the Publishing House, which of right, they asserted, 
belonged to their branch of the Church, the trustees 
brought suit to quiet the title. On the other side, in 
the various States, the Radicals themselves brought 
suit to gain possession of local churches. These legal 
suits continued for six or more years, keeping the 
Church more or less distracted much of the time, and 
finally ended in the sustaining of the Liberal Church 
by the highest authorities of all the States, save per- 
haps one. 

In all of these it was to be expected that Bishop 
Weaver would play a very important part. When 

323 



324: Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

he had joined the Church it consisted of say 20,000 
members, and thus most of its membership had come 
in during his lifetime. Its various departments of 
church work had been organized since that time. He 
had been a bishop continuously since 1865, and thus 
a member of each General Conference since that time. 
He was familiar with all the legislation, and helped 
to control much of it. He had helped to blaze the 
way for the appointment of the commission; had 
helped to explain and defend it and secure its final 
approval by the Church. If there was any one man 
living who knew the spirit and history of this de- 
nomination, this was the man. So all eyes were 
turned toward him as by all odds the most competent 
witness to give testimony as to the things done and 
the spirit in which they were done. All who were 
conversant with the circumstances affirm that he ac- 
quitted himself well here, just as he had done in other 
departments of church work. 

The editor of the Telescope, in the issue for July 
1, 1891, speaking of Bishop Weaver in connection 
with the Publishing House case, says : "He was on 
the stand nearly the entire day. During his direct 
examination, which was very exhaustive, the bishop 
was at his best ; his testimony was clear, ringing, and 
unequivocal. On the cross-examination, which lasted 
several hours, he was ready and self-possessed, and, 
despite the persistent and ingenious efforts of the 
seceders' attorney to weaken the force of the bishop's 
convincing testimony, he did not succeed in doing so 
in a single case. Said a lawyer of prominence, 



Before the Courts 



325 



'Bishop Weaver rose to the sublime in his answers in 
his cross-examination.' Those who testified against 
him, and who have so bitterly and so frequently as- 
saulted him without cause, paled into the merest 
pygmies in his presence. He made the impression of 
being a man of honest convictions and sound judg- 
ment, and they of being mere quibblers about words 
and dead forms. He impressed the court, as we be- 
lieve, and the great body of spectators present, that 
he is an honest man, and that the revision of our con- 
stitution and confession of faith had been legally,, 
faithfully, and religiously made." 

Dr. J. P. Landis, of Union Biblical Seminary, who 
was present at a number of these trials, has prepared 
for us, at our request, the following statement: "I 
was with Bishop Weaver in our Church trials with 
the Radicals in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Pennsyl- 
vania. On the witness-stand he was always calm, de- 
liberate, self-possessed, and, no matter how severe and 
close the examination, he was always master of the 
situation. The examining attorney soon learned that 
he must be careful how he approached the bishop, or 
he himself would come off punctured. His habit was 
to take the confessions of faith in parallel columns, 
compare them item by item, and show that there is in 
no article of the new any substantial difference from 
the old; that what is not expressly stated in the old 
which is explicitly put in the new, is surely implied 
in the old. Sometimes he would dwell at length 
upon their points of coincidence, elaborating and 
proving by Scripture citations, at which he was an 



326 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



expert. At the trial in Pontiac, Illinois, he was un- 
usually extended and uncommonly happy in what he 
said on the 'change of heart/ of which our Radical 
brethren had tried to make a strong point. The op- 
posing lawyer was a good deal worried and vexed at 
the court allowing the bishop to inject so much f argu- 
ment* as he said, contending that was the business 
of the lawyers and not of the witness. He indig- 
nantly remarked, 'Well, I guess we might as well have 
printed that sermon on the heart.' The bishop 
quietly remarked, 'O Mr. Strawn, you must pardon 
me; you know preaching is my business, and when- 
ever I come across a man who I think needs the gos- 
pel, I give it to him.' This brought down the house, 
to the discomfort of the lawyer. 

"In the trial in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Bowers, the cross-examining attorney, tried to be se- 
vere, but was calmly met, and foiled at every point. 
He had lying on the table a printed copy of one of 
the bishop's former lectures on secret societies, in 
which the bishop used some pretty severe words 
against the orders. In a somewhat confident, if not 
pompous manner, Mr. Bowers said, 'I have something 
here which I think you will be interested in, bishop.' 
Then taking up the pamphlet, he read marked pas- 
sages, in which occurred the bishop's severest words. 
The lawyer read them with as much emphasis and 
virulence as he could command, and then, with an 
air of triumphant expectancy, asked the bishop, 'Did 
you ever hear anything like that?' 'Yes,' said the 
bishop, 'that sounds a little familiar.' 'Did you write 



Before the Courts 



327 



that?' 'It is probable, though I could tell better if 
I should see it,' 'Well/ asked the lawyer, 'what do 
you think of it ?' The bishop promptly replied, 
'Well, considering my age when that was done, I 
think it was pretty well done.' This also caused an 
uproar of laughter. Then he explained that what 
was there expressed was once his sentiment, but that 
he had since changed his mind. 

"During the trial in Dayton, Ohio, the cross-ex- 
aminer did the same thing with the same lecture, and 
asked the bishop what he thought of it. To which 
the bishop responded, 'I must say that I rather admire 
the rhetoric, but don't think anything of the senti- 
ment.' This again gave opportunity to explain his 
change of attitude in some respects on the mooted 
question. Whenever the lawyers undertook to lead 
the bishop out into technical fields or into the realms 
of theological literature, he frankly told them he 
made no pretentions to technical learning, which 
ended the prosecution. His frankness, candor, and 
simplicity and unpretentiousness always won for him 
the confidence and profoundest respect of attorneys 
and judges. His testimony, both on points of his- 
tory and of doctrine, was, perhaps, on the whole, the 
best and most telling that was offered by the Liberal 
side." 

A gentleman who was interested in the case at 
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, says that, in preparing 
their case, they were advised by all means to have 
Bishop Weaver secured as a witness, and they did so, 
and he was present. His very presence seemed to' 



328 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

give inspiration and dignity to the occasion. When 
a direct question was asked, the bishop would give a 
very clear and direct answer. In the cross-question- 
ing, which was very persistent and technical, when 
Mr. Bowers, the lawyer for the Radicals, would ask 
the bishop the reason for such actions, the bishop 
would start out, and, until he would get around to 
the reason desired, he had made a most powerful 
argument, greatly to the annoyance of Mr. Bowers, 
who finally said, a Bishop, you were not called here 
to argue the case, but to testify." The bishop inno- 
cently answered, "Certainly; I was seeking to give 
the reason." At the noon meal, a gentleman said to 
him, "Bishop, Mr. Bowers doesn't like you to argue 
this case." He replied, "I know just as well as Mr. 
Bowers when I am arguing the case ; but our attorney 
at Dayton said I should shove it in whenever I could,, 
and I did." 

Mr. Bowers wanted to get an acknowledgment from 
the bishop that "creeds were made to counteract her- 
esy," citing the Apostles' Creed as counteracting the 
heresy of the Epicureans. He replied, "If Mr. Bow- 
ers can tell positively when and where and by whom 
the Apostles' Creed was made, he might so apply it; 
but as it is not known by our best writers when and 
where or by whom made, I do not see how he can so 
apply it." 

Mr. Bowers called up the pamphlet published by 
Bishop Weaver, in 1862, against secret societies, and, 
reading therefrom, asked if these were his utterances. 
"It sounds much like me," replied the bishop. "Well, 



Before the Courts 



329 



what do you think of it in the light of present con- 
ditions V said the attorney. With the broadest sort 
of a smile on his face, he said, "Well, Mr. Bowers, I 
admire the rhetoric, but I don't think as much as I 
did of the prophecy," which answer produced not 
a little merriment. 

When he was to leave, the court adjourned for a 
few minutes to give all an opportunity to speak to 
him. The bishop shook hands with all pleasantly, and 
especially thanked Mr. Bowers for being so lenient 
and courteous to him. Friends say he was not in the 
the least exasperated, but kind and patient. His 
dignified bearing contributed not a little to their 
success. 

Dr. William McKee heard Bishop Weaver testify 
in the case concerning the United Brethren Publish- 
ing House before the judges of the Circuit Court, 
Judge Shearer presiding, with the others assisting. 
The Badical brethren thought their attorneys had 
handled their case well. Bishop Weaver's testimony 
was, by all means, the most valuable given, and the 
judges relied very much on what he said. The cross- 
questioning not only failed to shake his testimony, 
but brought out many more important facts than had 
been given at first. There was a firmness and candor 
manifested, both in his testimony and manner, that 
tended to win all hearts. He was as open as day, and 
there was no effort at concealment. If there had been 
any blunders in the arranging for the commission at 
Fostoria, or in the manner of election which the com- 
mission had ordered to be taken, he would freely con- 



330 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



cede all these. The men who did this work were hon- 
est, but not infallible. In 1861, at the General Con- 
ference held in Westerville, he had made an earnest 
and able address against secret societies, which wa3 
afterwards published for general distribution. The 
attorneys on the opposite side had secured a printed 
copy of this most able address on this much talked of 
question. This was written four years before he be- 
came a bishop. This pamphlet was intended to play 
quite an important part in the trial. The attorneys 
had evidently prepared themselves for something of 
a sensation. After reading a couple of stringent 
paragraphs against the secrecy question, the attorney 
stopped short, and, with an imposing air, asked, 
"Bishop, did you make this statement as set forth 
in this pamphlet ?" "I think I did," answered the 
bishop, very courteously. "What do you think of it 
now V asked the attorney. The bishop again an- 
swered, "I was a young man then ; my views were not 
so well matured then as now, but from my standpoint 
at that time, I thought it was a right good speech." 
This good-humored and appropriate reply brought a 
broad smile to the faces of both judges and bar. The 
lawyer followed in due time with another question, 
"Do you still hold these views, or have you changed 
your opinions V 9 The bishop again frankly answered, 
"I have no sympathy with secret societies, and have 
nothing to do with them. I have changed my views 
as to how the Church should deal with these ques- 
tions," and this was the ending of the attempt to show 
the inconsistency of the bishop, which they evidently 



Before the Courts 



331 



thought would play an important part in their case. 
As men have done in other questions, he had, as an 
administrative officer, widened his views, and sought 
to adapt them to the necessities of the times. 

Dr. McKee was also present in the case of the 
Salem Church, tried in Allegan, Michigan. Bishop 
Weaver was a witness here also, as he was in most of 
the important cases. He was called to the stand on 
Tuesday morning, being very weary and quite hoarse. 
He asked the consent of the court to go to Grand 
Rapids and rest until Thursday, when he hoped to 
be in good condition for the work. His request was 
granted, and he tried to recruit his wasted strength. 
He reappeared on Thursday morning, still looking 
worn and weak, and his voice a little husky. He took 
his place on the stand at 9 : 45 in the morning. He 
was to testify on the question of the agreement of 
the revised with the old confession of faith. The 
attorney handed him a published copy of the old and 
new confession of faith in parallel columns, and 
bade him proceed in his own way to show the agree- 
ment or disagreement of the two documents. The 
bishop proceeded slowly and deliberately to show how 
the revised confession, in its classified form, as to 
the various subjects, evolved from the old. He had 
been a member of the commission to which was re- 
ferred the duty of making this revision ; with others 
he had gone over every word and every clause, care- 
fully scrutinizing the meaning of every part, and 
therefore knew what they both were. He talked and 
explained about half an hour, when it seemed to the 



332 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

hearers he could not for very weakness continue. As 
time passed, and he became more interested, he 
seemed to grow stronger, and proceeded with little or 
no interruption until five o'clock, having talked and 
explained for over six long hours. Lawyers and 
judges, with a large audience of church-members 
from both wings of the Church, watched and listened 
as the explanations came from his lips, with even 
more interest than people were wont to listen to him 
when he preached, and that is saying a good deal. 
Finally he reached the end of the task assigned him, 
and his testimony in chief was concluded. The law- 
yers on the Radical side asked him two questions, to 
which he replied with the greatest deference. Pleas- 
antly, and we might .say in a brotherly way, they 
reciprocated the conduct of the witness, and when the 
answers had been given, said, "Thank you, bishop, 
that is sufficient." 

It is safe to say the trial could just as well have 
ended then and there, for evidently the mind of the 
judge was made up, and the further testimony and 
appeals of the lawyers did not change nor modify 
his judgment. A witness for the Liberal side, who 
had heard all of the bishop's explanations during the 
day, said to him that evening after the close of the 
work for the day, "Bishop, it is your duty, as I trust 
you will make it your pleasure, to write a book on 
creeds, their history and growth, for the members of 
this United Brethren Church, and especially for the 
young men who are to become its ministers." His 
book on the confession of faith contains, in fuller 



Before the Courts 



333 



form, and at greater length, the testimony given this 
day in court. 

A writer who was present during the trial says he 
never saw a court room so silent as was this; never 
such order and decorum; never such deference paid 
to a witness as was done here. His tall, slender 
form, his kind face, and his courteous and gentle- 
manly manner, drew all to him, and all wanted to 
hear what he said. 

Two years after the Allegan trial, there was an- 
other one at Grand Kapids. This was in the winter 
season, and another judge was presiding. Bishop 
Weaver's testimony was not so elaborate as in the 
Salem case, but equally attractive and important to 
both court and lawyers. When the bishop was not 
on the stand, the judge went into his office and 
brought out a large easy chair, and then, taking the 
bishop by the arm, led him to the chair and seated 
him therein, saying, "You will rest more easily in 
this." At other times he said to him, "Here is my 
private room, carpeted and furnished ; whenever you 
wish to rest, please use my room, and come and go 
as you will, and make yourself entirely at home." 
All were well pleased, even the officials on the oppo- 
site side of the case, with the courtesy shown the 
bishop by the judge, and all were glad that in this 
way he could be made a little more comfortable. 
When on the stand he manifested the same attitude, 
without affectation, and without any effort to appear 
solemn, nor was there any effort at wit or irony or 
sarcasm. On the contrary, his statements were 



334: Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



straightforward, plain, and easily understood. When 
cross-questioned by those on the opposite side, he 
never appeared disturbed or offended, and however 
artfully the questions were prepared, with a view to 
entangle him in his answer, he never resorted to any 
kind of subterfuge by way of answers. Several times 
when he was asked to say "Yes" or "No" to certain 
questions, which all saw would not be fair either to 
witness or cause, and would not answer the entire 
question, he would kindly say, "Gentlemen, pardon 
me, I cannot answer your question in just that way ; 
I must say more in order to give you my meaning." 
This remark would pave the way for a fair answer 
to the question, which showed it was about the best 
they could get from him. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Chosen Bishop Emeeitus — 1893. 

The vote had been taken, but the battle had not 
yet been won. In the Telescope for January 23, 
1889, Bishop Weaver appeared in an article on 
"Changing Church Polity," in which he argued for 
its great need. "What could we do in the world to- 
day with the same order we had fifty years ago?" 
On March 13, he answered Rev. H. Floyd in an ar- 
ticle, entitled "What Vote Is Required," showing that 
those who willfully absent themselves from an elec- 
tion are presumed to consent to the will of the ma- 
jority at voting. A little later, he'delivered a lecture 
before the faculty and students of Union Biblical 
Seminary on "Ministerial Comity." On April 3, in 
a contribution, entitled "A Division in the Church," 
he stated the reasons alleged by the Radical brethren 
for justifying such division, and showed how unten- 
able they were. March 31, he was at Columbus 
Grove. April 8, he preached at Cedar Rapids, 
held the Iowa Conference, which met at Bristow, 
Iowa, on April 10, and, later, the mission conferences 
in Colorado. 

On the train to Colorado, he writes an article, "On- 
ward and Upward," full of cheery thoughts, in which 
he shows that Christianity never did as much as it is 

335 



336 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

doing now, that the Christians are coming together 
and working more harmoniously, and advises to "stop 
your everlasting whining and grumbling. God 
reigns, let the people rejoice. What if some things do 
not go to suit you, was there ever a time when every- 
thing suited everybody ? Woe be to the man who is 
hanging on the brakes of the car of progress. Take 
hold and help, or clear the track." 

The twentieth General Conference convened in 
York, Pennsylvania, May 9, and continued to the 
22d. It consisted of one hundred and thirty-one 
members. The bishops' address was read by Bishop 
Weaver, and was most likely prepared by him. The 
Church commission made its report, and it was re- 
ferred to a committee of seven, who later recom- 
mended its approval, and it was adopted after a long 
discussion, one hundred and ten voting in favor, and 
twenty against. Bishop Weaver made a brief and 
conciliatory address before the vote was taken. Later, 
fifteen of those voting no withdrew from the Con- 
ference and organized independently in Park Opera 
House. It became evident that the combat was not 
yet over. Bishop Weaver was again elected bishop 
by a vote of one hundred and eighteen. 

As stated elsewhere, before the final report was 
made at York, concerning the results of the vote, 
Bishop Weaver did a great amount of corresponding 
with influential men in the Church. Bishop Dickson 
had been radical in his views, yet judicious and care- 
ful in his practice, and Bishop Weaver was very 
anxious to receive his cooperation. He wrote him, 



Chosen Bishop Emeritus 



337 



urging him to carefully consider the question, and 
make such criticisms as he thought best, but finally to 
support the commission. Bishop Dickson did so an- 
nounce himself some months before the vote was 
taken. Bishop Weaver saw the work was really just 
-commenced, and that Bishop Dickson should be con- 
tinued as bishop, so as to help reach an element he 
■could not reach. He said to the writer : "I did what 
I never did before. I electioneered for the election of 
a bishop. I counseled with a number of delegates, 
#nd Bishop Dickson was reelected, although somewhat 
on in years ; and he did some of his best work during 
the four following years," 

Bishop Weaver's work for the third year was to be 
in the East District. In an article written soon after 
the conference, entitled "Facts — Counsel," he sought 
to show the facts concerning the commission, and ad- 
vised all to" make haste slowly in coming to a de- 
cision ; look on both sides, so that you may have noth- 
ing to regret when you have decided." In "A Pure 
Church," he teaches "the most successful way to sep- 
arate men and women from evil and evil associations 
is to show something better in Christ." In an article 
on "Church Questions," he tells us every denomina- 
tion has more or less internal trouble. It was so with 
the apostles. In "Fundamental Questions," he asks, 
"Has the United Brethren Church gone away from 
any fundamental principle ?" and proceeds to show it 
has not 

On July 26, he started East. He dedicated a 
-church at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, July 28, and 

22 



338 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



spent a few days at Chambersburg ; later, was at 
Emig's Grove camp-meeting; visited Hagerstown, 
Maryland, and later Dillsburg camp, eighteen mile3 
from Harrisburg. Next, lie went to Zion camp, and 
from here to Stoverdale. He finds everything pleas- 
ant, except "the beds are a little mite too short, say; 
from one to two feet." 

He thinks a very large majority of the people will 
stand by the Church. In an article, "Why Go Away 
from the Church ?" he shows the seceders' cannot take 
any of the Church property with them, and not a 
single fundamental doctrine has been lost. Do they 
expect to found a church in which anybody thinks ? 

The year closed with an article, "An Hour with. 
Eev. A. Biddle." He was a member of the General 
Conference of 1841, and Bishop Weaver inquired 
of him as to how the constitution was adopted, and 
then gave a report of the same. 

He reported for the East District for the year clos- 
ing: Appointments, 1,309; organized churches, 
1,173 ; membership, 64,753 ; increase during the year, 
2,913. "The loss by the secession movement is small ; 
less than twenty efficient ministers have gone, and 
not to exceed one thousand members in this district, 
consisting of Tennessee, Erie, East Ohio, Parkers- 
burg, Allegheny, East Pennsylvania, East German, 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland conferences. 
Our ministers and members are more churchly than 
ever before, and they know more about creeds and 
constitutions than they ever would have known had 
it not been for this schism. Scarcely a jar or ruffle 



Chosen Bishop Emeritus 



339 



was seen or felt anywhere. All seemed to be of one 
heart and one mind." Later came articles on "The 
Christian Sabbath," "Church Property," and one on 
"Modifying — Changing Views," a reply to one in 
the Conservator, "An Open Letter to Our Ministers," 
"The Old Creed," and "Sanctification." 

Miami Conference was held at Cherry Grove, 
Ohio, August, 1890; Auglaize, at Dunkirk, August 
27 ; North Ohio, at Hicksville, September 10 ; San- 
dusky, at Eindlay, September 17 ; Ohio German, at 
Zanesville, September 25; Central Ohio, at Wester- 
ville, October 1; Scioto, at Taylorsville, October 8; 
Kentucky Conference was held by L. Bookwalter, and 
Canada Conference by Dr. William McKee. The 
bishop noted that this was the first time in twenty-six 
years that he had been detained from his conferences 
because of ill health. 

He closed a busy year with this statement : "Some 
years ago, I wrote a few articles under the caption 
of The Outlook.' What is the outlook to-day? 
Never better, never brighter. We are dedicating 
three new churches every week ; every department of 
church work is not only growing, but flourishing. 
Nothing to discourage or dishearten, but many things 
to inspire hope and confidence." 

The first days of 1891 found him with engage- 
ments every Sabbath until March, yet he still found 
time, and had the disposition to use his pen. The 
first article to appear was "Our Educational Work," 
in which he shows we need students and money; 
"What of the Night?" showing it is day; "The Gen- 



340 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



eral Conferences of 1885 and of 1889" ; "The Insur- 
rection of the Dead" ;"What Is Essential to the Cause 
of Missions ?" which he answers in one word — conse- 
cration; "The General Conference of 1833," in which 
he shows there is hardly a rule in our Discipline to- 
day which was there then. The last of May was spent 
with the brethren in Ontario. He was there pre- 
sented with a gold-headed cane. Later, came an ar- 
ticle on "Our Present Status," showing that, in spite 
of the agitation through which the Church had 
passed, "numerically and financially we are stronger 
to-day than we ever were before." He writes from 
Fort Scott, October 27 : "One more conference, and 
I am through for this fall. The conferences have all 
been very good. I have not been well for several 
weeks." Most of December he was confined to the 
house by sickness, but still able to prepare an article, 
"A Few Suggestions," in which he advises honest and 
sincere men and women, who were deceived and led 
away, as to what they ought to do. 

He begins the year 1892 with an article on "How 
to Preach," in which he says : "To-day, February 23, 
I am sixty-eight years old. Forty-seven years ago, I 
entered the ministry. In heart and spirit and in love 
for the ministry and the Church I feel as young as 
the day I mounted my horse and started for my first 
mission, a hundred miles away. All these years I 
have been learning how to preach, but, alas ! what a 
poor attempt I have made of it. A few things I have 
learned: (1) The nearer I am to Christ, the nearer 
I can get to the people; (2) as a rule, the people de- 



Chosen Bishop Emeritus 



341 



sire the plain, simple truths of the gospel; (3) souls 
are won by preaching Christ. Young men, preach 
Christ, first, last, and all the time. The seraphic 
Summerfield said, just before he died: 'Oh, if I 
might be raised, how I could preach ! I could preach 
as I never did before. I have taken a look into eter- 
nity. A look into eternity is enough to stir the soul 
of any man.' " He follows this with an earnest ex- 
hortation to show heart-earnestness. Do not read, 
preach the truth plainly ; show common sense ; have 
manly courage, and preach for souls. 

In the early part of the year, his health was poor 
for several weeks, and he was unable to get even as far 
as the Publishing Hojise. He still kept his pen at 
work when able to do anything. "The Church's 
Greatest Need" he shows to be a baptism of power — 
power to draw men and women to Christ. "The Co- 
lumbian Exposition and the Sabbath" is a protest 
against its opening on the Sabbath, in which every 
Christian should join. "Our Church Trouble" was 
no unexpected thing. The history of every denomina- 
tion records dissensions, schisms, and divisions. We 
are now reaching the beginning of the end of our 
trouble. "A Dream — But Not All" is suggested by a 
visit to a graveyard. "Preaching Jesus" allows him 
to say that the people are tired of abstractions ; this 
is the only hope for a lost world. 

A short time previous to the beginning of his con- 
ferences, he wrote a letter to the members of the 
Northwest District : "I have been afflicted for a num- 
ber of weeks, have not, indeed, been able for duty for 



342 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

a number of months. Had hoped to be able to attend 
my conferences, but it is uncertain. No one feels this 
disappointment so keenly as I do. The Lord knows 
what is best, and will do it. I ask your prayers that 
I may be sustained by grace divine." 

He describes a new kind of "hard work" which he 
is experiencing: "After having spent forty-seven 
years in the active work, to be compelled to stop and 
go into comparative retirement in the invalid's cham- 
ber, and be sick, real sick, sick all over, not for a day, 
but for many days, is very hard work. I look out 
over the field, through the Telescope, and it thrills me 
through and through. Church-houses are being dedi- 
cated, souls are coming into the kingdom, and the 
ministers are at work, both at home and abroad. 
Bless me ! how I would like to be out and in it My 
very bones (and that is about all there seems to be 
left of me) seem to be on fire. I cannot help it, and, 
what is more, I do not want to help it. The doctor 
said I must not study, but I told him I must think. 
My 'think' goes on whether I will it or not. The idea 
of living and not thinking ! If I can do nothing else 
while the blessed work goes on, I can clap my hands 
and say, 'Amen/ and, once in a while, 'Hallelujah.' " 

The conferences assigned him were : North Michi- 
gan, Fremont, Michigan, August 25 ; Michigan, Sun- 
field, Michigan, September 1 ; St. Joseph, North 
Manchester, Indiana, September 7 ; Upper Wabash, 
Annapolis, Indiana, September 14 ; Rock River, Polo, 
Illinois, September 22; Wisconsin, Hopeville 
Church, September 29; Minnesota, Alma City, Oc- 



Chosen Bishop Emeritus 



343 



tober 6 ; Des Moines, Van Meter, Iowa, October 12 ; 
Elkhorn and Dakota, Blair, Nebraska, October 20; 
West Nebraska, Broken Bow, October 27. He was 
present at the most of these, and the remainder were 
held by other ministers. He returned from these con- 
ferences improved in health. The trip and change 
of climate and surroundings did him good. He re- 
turned to Dayton for rest and quiet. 

Another General Conference will convene in 1893 ; 
the first one when lay delegates will participate in the 
business; for a long time he has desired to see lay- 
men admitted to our legislative body. There appears 
from his pen an article, entitled "Words of Cheer." 
There is harmony and prosperity throughout all our 
borders, and it is a good time to rejoice and be glad. 
Other articles follow: "That Better Country" ; "Re- 
generation—What Is It V "Jay Gould" ; "Keep in 
de Middle ob de Road," a caution against such ex- 
tremes as doubting the reliability of Scripture, sub- 
stituting culture for experimental religion, turning 
everything into a social channel, and such other ten- 
dencies of the times. 

The twenty-first General Conference met in Day- 
ton, Ohio, May 11, and Bishop Weaver, as senior 
bishop, was in the chair. During this Conference, 
he was elected bishop emeritus. In response to this 
action on the part of the Conference, he made a brief 
address, from which we extract the following : "Fifty 
years ago, about this time, I received my first quar- 
terly conference license. Forty-seven years ago, I 
united with the Muskingum Conference, and have not 



344 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

been in a local relation for forty-seven years. During 
all these years, I have worked as hard as I could, but 
not as well as I might have done. During all these? 
years the Church has treated me very tenderly, and 
I only regret 'that I have not been able to do better 
work for her. They tell me that I am getting old,, 
and I am reminded of a little anecdote. A colored 
boy was asked how old he was, and he replied, 'If you 
judge by the fun I have had, I reckon I am pretty 
old.' So, if you judge by the pleasure I have had in 
working for the Church, I reckon I am pretty old ; but 
I intend to die young. What you did this morning, 
beloved brethren, nearly upset me. I call it a dis- 
tinguished honor. It does not make me feel proud,, 
but it humbles me. I may not live through this quad- 
rennium in the church militant, but I shall live a long 
time in the home above." 

Eyes were suffused with tears while the venerable 
bishop was speaking, and when he had finished, he 
was loudly applauded. 

Dr. E. E. Baker, of the Lutheran Church, had been 
appointed as fraternal delegate to this conference,, 
and, in his address, he made some allusions to our 
Church troubles, and the fact that the Lutherans were 
having some difficulty; also, to the fact that we had 
admitted lay delegates, and authorized the licensing 
of women. Bishop Weaver was asked to reply, which 
he did, very shrewdly and appropriately. We have 
space for a brief paragraph or two: "In reference 
to the fracas through which we are passing, I am 
pleased that our brother greets us at a time when we 



Chosen Bishop Emeritus 



345 



think we are well across the Rubicon; and when we 
get safely over, if they are still in the water, we will 
reach out the hand to help them across, for we shall 
then know how to cross it. 

"He makes mention of our recognition of women as 
members of this body, and our having settled it so 
easily and quietly. I wish him to bear back to his 
brethren the thought that we have left the door open 
behind us, whenever they see proper to come that 
way ; and he does not yet fully know the blessing that 
it would be to him and to his people, if they would 
walk through the open door. When the church you 
represent to-day shall have admitted women into the 
general councils of the church, and granted them 
license to preach, you will find it a means of grace, 
also. 

"I can well remember, in my boyhood days, when 
the ecclesiastical walls were so high that we could not 
see over them. We could finally hear each other peck- 
ing away on opposite sides of the wall. Somebody, 
somehow, sometime, has taken down those walls and 
left nothing but the marks where they stood, and 
across these marks we reach out the hand, and look 
each other in the eye, and say, 'God bless you !' and 
'God speed you !' Is not this the dawn of the millen- 
nium ?" 

The conferences assigned him were Auglaize, Ohio 
German, and Ontario, which he held, being in better 
health. 

Before the close of the Conference, he went to 
Michigan, to visit some of his children, and to enjoy 



346 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

a little rest. Soon there appeared from his pen an 
article, entitled "Now What ?" which taught that, the 
Conference being over, we now need for our success 
men and women consecrated to God and the service of 
the Church. Later, he was present at the World's 
Congress of Keligions, in Chicago, and presided over 
the gathering of the United Brethren at their special 
meeting. His article, entitled "Change — Why?" 
teaches that there are times when a minister may 
change his denominational relations, but the reasons 
should be such as will justify such action. 

In the later fall, he left Dayton for a trip East. 
He was present at the reopening of the Third Church 
at York, Pennsylvania. He visited Hummelstown 
and Annville, and dedicated a church at Avon, and 
was with the bishops in a semiannual meeting at 
Johnstown, November 25. An article in the Tele- 
scope on "What to Preach" advises all to preach 
Christ, as he is the substance of all doctrine and the 
sum of all enjoyment. He closes the year with an 
article on "Scolding," which, he asserts, does not be- 
long to the fine arts, nor is it an evidence of fine 
culture. 



CHAPTER XX. 
How He Used His Pen. 

Bishop Weaves was fond of writing, and gave 
himself to it as his time and circumstances would 
allow. He soon found this was the best way to de- 
velop mental strength. He always advised young 
ministers to write their sermons for the mental drill 
it would give them in clearness of thought and accu- 
racy of expression, but never to take their manuscript 
into the pulpit. Before the infirmities of age came 
upon him, he wrote in a clear, plain hand, without 
any ornamentation, but easily read, and took no little 
pains in the preparation of his copy. In speaking to 
a friend of the manuscript for one of his books, he 
said: "I wrote it carefully, and tried to execute it 
neatly so that it might be like the case of the colored 
man who asked the price of potatoes, and was an- 
swered, 'Sixty cents a bushel.' He then replied, 'If 
the internal surface is like the external surface, I 
will take a bushel. ' " The bishop meant that not 
only should the matter be good, but it should be neatly 
and carefully expressed. 

He early recognized the value of the church press, 
and began to use it, although he laid no claim to any 
special literary excellence. He was as good as the 

347 



348 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

best of his contemporaries, and better than the ma- 
jority. The people needed reading matter, and it 
was as much his duty to help supply them as it was 
the duty of others. The Missionary Visitor was 
started at his suggestion, and named by him. It was 
to be a kind of Sunday-school paper, and specially to 
be a means of conveying missionary intelligence to 
our people. He frequently wrote for this in an early 
day, and also for the Children s Friend, which was 
more distinctively a paper for Sunday-school pupils. 
When he was in the college agency work, he kept 
in close touch with the people through his communi- 
cations to the paper. He needed to explain his plans, 
recount his successes, and defend the action of the 
Board of Trustees. At times he would relate the 
misfortunes he met and the cool receptions that some- 
times awaited him. He found a college agent was not 
always and everywhere a desirable guest. Through 
all of these, when proper, ran a little vein of humor, 
which interested his readers. He took them into his 
confidence. There was nothing stilted or strained 
or obscure in his statements, but he talked to his read- 
ers very much as he would talk to them about their 
firesides, and his communications were welcomed and 
read. Perhaps no name appears more frequently in 
our various Church periodicals during the last half- 
century than his, and no man has been more effective 
in building up our Church literature. The bent of 
his mind, as well as his life-work, and what seemed 
to him the most important wants of the Church, have 
kept his pen confined mainly to one line of thought, 



How He Used His Pen 



349 



but in that he has shown himself a faithful worker, 
one that needed not to be ashamed. 

Bishop Weaver was a frequent writer for the 
Church papers, almost from the time he began his 
ministry. In 1862, he published a pamphlet of some 
fifty pages, entitled "A Lecture on Secret Societies," 
in which he defended the Church by giving reasons 
for her hostility to freemasonry and other orders. 
His first book is a 12mo volume of 175 pages, entitled 
"Discourses on the Kesurrection." He was led to 
this because of his interest in the subject He had 
read much on it for his own information, and con- 
cluded to prepare this little volume for the instruc- 
tion of others. His reason alleged for the same is, 
that "the majority of Christians have not time to 
read and study elaborate works on the subject." He 
seeks, therefore, in a brief and plain manner, to state 
the arguments usually adduced in favor of the doc- 
trine. His purpose is not to provoke discussion, but 
to strengthen and comfort the hearts of the common 
people. 

In the first discourse, he gives a brief history of 
the doctrine, showing that it was taught and believed 
by portions of the human race in all time past. He 
shows that Christ died, was buried, and rose from 
the dead. We have the testimony of witnesses who 
are competent and credible, and whose testimony can- 
not be disputed. If he rose, then they shall rise; 
some resurrections have already occurred, and others 
will follow in due time. In the second address, he 
shows that the Scriptures emphatically teach this 



350 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

doctrine. It will be the same body, but changed and 
glorified. The resurrection is yet to come. All will 
be raised, but not all will be glorified. The doctrine 
is a comforting one. The third discourse deals with 
the future destiny of man. Most of the early philos- 
ophers believed not only in a future state, but one of 
rewards and punishments. We have a surer word 
of prophecy. The righteous will have a place where 
they shall dwell ; it will be a place of absolute purity ; 
the saints shall not die ; they will not be idle. How 
much better all of this than the views of the pagan 
philosophers and poets. He shows the immoral lives 
of some who denied Christianity and disbelieved in 
the resurrection ; of their punishment, there shall be 
no end. 

His next was a larger volume, published in 1873, 
consisting of some 323 pages, 12mo, and entitled "Di- 
vine Providence," At one time, he was holding a con- 
ference at Greensburg, Pennsylvania. W. J. Shuey 
was present, and preached a sermon in which he 
referred especially to this doctrine. Bishop Weaver 
became interested in the matter, and began studying 
the subject as he had never done before. In thirteen 
chapters, he sets forth, with a cleverness of thought 
and diction, and with a wealth of illustration, the 
consolations we may receive from the acceptance of 
the truth of the providence of God, and the import- 
ance of submitting to it. There is a God; if not, 
there could be no providence. His attributes are the 
perfection of his nature, and these always work in 
harmony. The notion of a providence has been a 



How He Used His Pen 



351 



universal tradition. By providence he means a mani- 
festation of that universal superintendence which 
God exercises over all his creatures. The Scriptures 
teach that God overrules the designs and purposes 
of men ; that human efforts are vain without God ; all 
temporal sufferings come from God; change of for- 
tune is from him. Providence is both particular and 
general. "God in managing the universe must see 
that everywhere post and pin is in the right place." 
Providence includes not only stupendous matters and 
events, but also that which seems to be of little or no 
importance. "These are as manifest in the kingdom 
of grace as they are, or ever have been in the king- 
dom of nature. All things great and small, good and 
evil, are under the control of the Almighty, and can- 
not exist without his permission. The operations of 
divine Providence are often concealed from view. 
They seem confused and entangled because we see 
nothing clearly. Blessings often come in disguise. 
God leads by dark and intricate ways. There are 
consolations that come to us from believing "that 
God is everywhere present to sustain and control all 
laws and events in the kingdom of nature and grace ; 
that he directs the steps of the good man and over- 
rules the evil designs and acts of wicked men." The 
goodness, sufficiency, longsuffering, and mercy of God 
are all sources of consolation. 

The thirteenth and last chapter is a very interest- 
ing one, on the necessity and importance of sub- 
mitting to the providence of God, with encourage- 
ments thereto. "Unthinking people would have a 



352 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

world where everything grew spontaneously. They 
would not have a trial, nor a sorrow, nor a care, nor 
a pain, nor a disappointment. They would be fanned 
by breezes balmier than those that blew over Eden 
in the early morning of time. They would have 
everything that heart could wish. They would have 
summer but no winter, roses but no thorns, joy but 
no sorrow, life but no death. Now faith says, if 
these things were best for us, our Heavenly Father 
would straightway give them to us; but seeing they 
are denied us, it is sufficient evidence that we shall 
be better off in the end without them. What a beauty 
there is in entire submission to the will of God, by 
means of which we cheerfully surrender all things — 
life, friends, time, and eternity — into his hands." 

It is a most interesting, able, and instructive vol- 
ume. It has brought comfort and courage to many 
a disappointed heart as it has trod the pathway of 
life. It has made God more real and more helpful 
to those who put their trust in him. It has shown 
him that a Father's hand is on the wheels of the uni- 
verse, and nothing comes to pass without his consent ; 
nothing comes to his children which shall not be for 
their good. The author himself tested the things con- 
cerning which he wrote, and found all of God's prom- 
ises sure and certain. 

In 1873, he also published a little volume of sixty- 
one pages on "Ministerial Salary." It was an address 
prepared for, and delivered before the Ministerial 
Association of the Virginia Annual Conference, in a 
session held at Rohrersville, Maryland, February 12, 



How He Used His Pen 



353 



1873, and published at their request. It was sug- 
gested to him by the fact that our ministers were so 
poorly paid. On his first field, with his own horse 
and saddle, he traveled a circuit of seventeen appoint- 
ments, making two hundred miles each round, and 
for his eight months of service received eighty dol- 
lars as compensation. The next year he was mar- 
ried, and received for his whole year only sixty dol- 
lars. The third year, he did better, receiving one 
hundred and seventy-five dollars. Many of the peo- 
ple were poor, and could not give much; others who 
could, had not been trained to give, and did not feel 
the obligations resting upon them. He fared as well 
as did his fellow-ministers. The earliest preachers 
of the Church traveled without pay, as they owned 
farms, from the income of which they could derive 
a support. When Bishop Weaver was among the 
Yankees, as they were called in the Western Reserve, 
as much was collected for his support from persons 
outside of the Church, and having no church connec- 
tion, as from the members. It was considered that 
all were blessed by the preaching of the gospel, and 
why should not all contribute to its support? We 
had not yet reached the period of assessments. ~No 
agreement was made with the people as to what they 
should pay, but they were expected to pay as well as 
they could, and this was pledged in the form of a 
subscription. 

This address was an earnest appeal for a compe- 
tent support for a faithful ministry, showing that this 
is God's plan, and when his people do not meet it, 

23 



354 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

they are dishonoring him, doing themselves a great 
injustice, weakening the ministry, if not, indeed, 
driving many out of it. He could readily speak out 
of the fullness of his observation, if not from his 
own experience. He never had any hesitation in 
pressing upon the Church the duty of supporting the 
gospel. He urged that congregations should look after 
their pastors : "There are among ministers at least 
some modest men who could hardly be induced to 
ask for money, no matter how hard they be pressed* 
It takes more grace to ask for money than it does to 
preach. All this trouble and mortification might be 
spared the minister if some one would only think to 
ask him how he is getting along. Indeed, I would not 
care if the General Conference would make the esti- 
mating committee a committee on finance for the 
whole year; make it their duty to visit the pastor 
once or twice a quarter and make special inquiry into 
the state of things ; see if any of the family are bare- 
footed ; examine the beds and see if they have cover- 
ing enough ; go from cellar to garret and see if any- 
thing is wanting; and then ask the minister to see 
his pocketbook. Some such regulation committee, in 
my opinion, would be a grand, if not a glorious insti- 
tution. Indeed, I would not object to having such a 
committee visit me at least three times a quarter; 
and I should want them to make thorough work of 
it." 

In 1878, another volume appeared from his pen, 
entitled "The Doctrine of Universal Restoration 
Carefully Examined," a 12mo volume of 403 pages. 



How He Used His Pen 



355 



"Do the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments 
teach the ultimate holiness and salvation of all men ?" 
In his early preaching in North Ohio, he came in 
contact with some well-informed men who had ac- 
cepted the teachings of universalism, and they took 
some pleasure in puzzling this young, untrained 
preacher with difficult questions. He found it neces- 
sary, if he would preserve his own self-respect, and 
not lose his influence over his own people, to inform 
himself as to the teachings of that system of religion. 
He secured the standard teachings of their hest ad- 
vocates, and went to work to learn tjieir theories, and 
then how to meet them from an orthodox stand- 
point. Later, he was drawn into some public discus- 
sions with these advocates, and this made it more nec- 
essary that he should know exactly what was claimed. 
All this prepared the way for the thorough analysis 
which is here given. Having read the best authori- 
ties, and carefully written out his best arguments, he 
concluded he might be able to help others who pos- 
sibly should be brought face to face with the same 
error. 

In his preface, he says : "I have examined a num- 
ber of libraries, public and private, but have never 
found a book that pursued the course of reasoning 
which, to my mind, most successfully exposed the 
errors of that system." He has sought to state clearly 
and distinctly the theories of this system, and then 
his objections thereto. He does not give the argu- 
ments as all his own, but the arrangement is his own. 
He simply claims to be a plain man, in a plain way 



356 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

presenting plain truth, with the hope that "the ear- 
nest inquirer after truth may find much in this un- 
pretending volume to strengthen his faith in the 
great fundamental doctrine of the gospel of Jesus 
Christ." 

The author states the propositions in the follow- 
ing forms: "If the Scriptures teach the ultimate 
holiness and salvation of all men, they must, in clear 
and unmistakable terms, teach one of five things: 
First, that all men are made holy in this life ; or, sec- 
ond, that all men not made holy in this life will be 
made holy in death; or, third, that those not made 
holy in this life nor in death will be made holy in 
the resurrection; or, fourth, all who are not made 
holy in this life nor in death nor in the resurrection 
will be made holy between the death and the resur- 
rection of the body ; or, fifth, that those who are not 
made holy in this life nor in death nor in the resur- 
rection nor between death and the resurrection of the 
body will be made holy somewhere after the resur- 
rection ; I can think of no other possible supposition. 
But do the Scriptures anywhere teach that all men 
will be made holy, either here or hereafter?" He 
carefully, as we believe, negatives every one of these 
propositions by a wealth of Scripture statement, 
clearly and fairly presented, that is surprising. 
After quoting from a number of Universalist au- 
thors, to show what they teach, he proceeds, in a fair 
and earnest way, to show how antagonistic they are 
to the plain and unequivocal statements of God's 
Word. When the book was written, it seemed as if 



How He Used His Pen 



357 



there was nothing else to be said. For a man who 
had not been trained in the schools, but had picked 
up his information as he journeyed along through 
the forest, a half -paid itinerant on his way to his next 
appointment, his wealth of Scripture illustration and 
clear and forcible style are simply marvelous. 

He closes this earnest discussion with these words : 
"The whole theory of Universalism is false, danger- 
ous, and pernicious. Any system of religion that 
starts out by making God the author of sin, and 
then denies the doctrine of depravity, and rejects the 
divinity of Christ and the doctrine of the vicarious 
atonement, is false in all its parts. It is another 
religion, and makes the Bible an unnecessary book. 
It promises an endless life of bliss to all men alike, 
whether they be saints or sinners. The atheist, the 
deist, the drunkard, or murderer, who die as they live, 
will be crowned in glory all the same as those who 
believe and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. Be not 
deceived by this siren song of peace." 

In 1889, he edited a volume on "Christian Doc- 
trine," which was intended to be a comprehensive 
treatise on systematic and practical theology. It was 
issued in octavo form, and contained six hundred and 
eleven pages. It comprised thirty-seven chapters, 
each one written by a different person. Bishop 
Weaver himself wrote the article on the "Divinity 
of Christ." The plan was his own, and he selected 
the men and assigned the subjects. In some of the 
articles he was a little disappointed, but most of 
them were very commendable. We had no work on 



358 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

theology up to this date, written by any one of our 
own Church. He says of it: "For a number of 
years, I have been impressed that a volume of a 
practical character, carefully prepared by different 
authors, embracing the leading doctrines of Chris- 
tian theology, would be interesting and helpful to 
young ministers and Christian workers generally. 
There are many volumes of theology, rich and full, 
but many of them are too elaborate for the majority 
of Christian workers. What we need most of all is 
the plain, simple truths of the gospel of Christ. In 
this volume the aim has been to submit the positive 
side of accepted truth without exhaustive or labored 
discussions. The book is intended to bring directly 
before the mind, in a practical way, the leading doc- 
trines contained in the gospel of our Lord." 

The book was larger and the price correspondingly 
greater than of his other books, so, while having a 
fair sale, it did not sell as extensively as some of the 
others. 

In 1892, he prepared another volume, finally issued 
in 1894, entitled "A Practical Comment on the Con- 
fession of Faith of the United Brethren in Christ," 
12mo, 185 pages. In the trials for the control of 
the Church property, which came after the work of 
the commission had been approved, it was asserted 
that the Confession of Faith had been changed, so 
that virtually this was now a new church. It was 
the work of Bishop Weaver, as a witness, mainly to 
show how they were essentially the same as to doc- 
trine, but arranged in more systematic form. To do 



How He Used His Pen 



359 



this, he made a thorough study of the subject. He 
acquitted himself so well that it was suggested that 
he should print these studies in book form for the 
benefit of the younger ministry of the Church. By 
quoting several of the old creeds, sketching their his- 
tory, and detailing the important offices they have 
performed in the past history of the Church, the 
author has outlined, in a concrete form, for this 
Church a vast amount of information of great im- 
portance. 

In 1899, when seventy-five years of age, there ap- 
peared from his fertile pen another volume, the child 
of his old age, and in the preparation of which he 
took more pleasure than in that of any other of 
his productions, entitled "Heaven; or, That Better 
Country." He had given the subject much thought, 
and it was pleasant to feel that he might be an 
inspiration to some one else, and make this to 
them a subject of special interest, as it had been to 
him. He said to a brother with whom he was con- 
versing: "I take more pleasure and comfort, in lin- 
gering about the Mount of Transfiguration than I do 
in gazing upon the steep sides of Sinai. There is too 
much noise and racket about the latter to make it an 
enjoyable place." 

"When his tongue shall no longer utter in tender- 
ness and love, with matchless simplicity, the gospel of 
the Son of God, this book will be read by thousands 
with ever-increasing delight and edification." It has 
sold more extensively than any other book he has 
ever written. It has found a patronage outside of 



360 Biography of Jotiathan Weaver 

the Church as well as in. His views of heaven are 
presented to us in twelve different chapters, as fol- 
lows: (1) Is There a Better Country? (2) Immor- 
tality; (3) Heaven, a Local, Substantial Place; 
(4) Various Theories Concerning the Future; (5) 
Heaven — A Better Country; (6) Progress and Em- 
ployment in Heaven; (7) Heaven — Society, Recog* 
nition; (8) Heaven — Home; (9) Heaven — A Place 
of Rest; (10) Heaven — Sources of Happiness; 
(11) Negative Descriptions; (12) Preparation for 
Heaven. 

In his introduction, Bishop Weaver writes : "The 
author, in his own not very attractive style, has 
sought to bring before the mind of the reader as clear 
ideas of the future state of the saints as it was pos- 
sible for him to do. He is fully aware of the lack 
of literary finish, but hopes that it may be helpful and 
encouraging to at least a few of the pilgrim sojourn- 
ers who are seeking for, and earnestly desiring to 
find that better country. May it be that on some 
glad day, when the clouds are lifted and the mists 
have rolled away, the reader and the writer will find 
a home in the Father's house of many mansions. 
With the hope that some wayfaring pilgrim may be 
helped on his way to the city of the living God, this 
unpretending little book is given to the public by 
the author." 

After these glimpses of the better country, these 
pictures which have cheered our hearts and strength- 
ened our faith, he comes to the last pages, and in these 
he tells us of his own whereabouts : "I am now near 



How He Used His Pen 



361 



the base of life's rugged mountain, on the western 
slope. I cannot go back if I would. There are only 
a few steps between me and the river. I know it 
must be so, for the shadows of life's evening tree are 
falling thick around me. What if this were all? 
What if nothing remained for me but the few steps 
before me, then to cease to be, the same as if I had 
not been at all % Wherein lies the difference between 
not beginning to be and ceasing to be ? The evening 
time qf life to one who has nothing to look for beyond 
must be dim and shadowy. But there is something 
after this life. 

" 'In the twilight of a summer's evening, a pastor 
called at the residence of one of his parishioners, and 
found seated in the doorway a little boy, with both 
hands extended upward, holding to a line. "What 
are you doing here, my little friend ?" inquired the 
minister. "Flying my kite, sir," was the reply. 
"Flying your kite !" exclaimed the pastor, "I can see 
no kite; you can see none." "I know it, sir," re- 
sponded the lad; "I cannot see it, but I know it is 
there, for I feel it pull/' * 

"We cannot see beyond the river, but if our affec- 
tions are set on things above we shall realize beyond 
a peradventure that there is something there for us. 
All this longing, hoping, and dreaming means some- 
thing. We cannot all be false. What does it 
mean ? . . . The voice of all the peoples of the 
earth from the remotest antiquity, learned and un- 
learned, high and low, wise and unwise, poets and 
philosophers, is that there is something remaining 



362 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



for man after this life. The universal consent is 
confirmed by a revelation from God, which not only 
teaches the fact, but points the way leading to an im- 
mortal inheritance that fadeth not away." 

When he penned those words he stood so near the 
banks of the river that his statements seem to us not 
so much what he thought, but what, with his clear 
vision, he already saw. Since that time he has 
crossed the river and become a citizen of that "better 
country." The mists are all gone, and he sees things 
as they really are. If, with his increased light and 
knowledge, he could be permitted to revise this vol- 
ume, how its very words would pulsate with a richer 
and fuller knowledge. But it cannot be. We must 
patiently wait to look upon it with our own eyes. No 
pen can describe it to us. 

This was followed, in 1900, by a work on "Chris- 
tian Theology," discussing such theological topics as 
are usually treated in such volumes. It is published 
in octavo form, and contains 381 pages. It does not 
pretend to be a scholarly book; does not so much 
deal with objections and answers to difficult questions 
as it seeks, in a plain, simple way, to present the posi- 
tive side of truth. We should have liked it better 
if he had named it "A Gospel for the Common Peo- 
ple," for such it really is. Some ten years before 
this volume appeared, the Sunday-School Board had 
conceived the idea of a little volume for Sunday- 
school teaching, to be entitled, possibly, "A Manual 
for Sabbath-School Workers." Bishop Weaver was 
asked to prepare an outline of theological teaching 



How He Used His Pen 



363 



embracing some fifty or more pages, for this volume, 
and he did so. For some reason, the plan was finally 
abandoned, but the manuscript remained in the 
hands of its friends. Later, when Bishops Mills and 
Kephart had consummated a plan for a series of 
books to be written by competent men in the Church, 
to be called "The New Century Library," Bishop 
Weaver was asked to revise his previous outline, 
which he did, giving one whole winter to the work, 
and thus it became the first volume of the contem- 
plated library. It is written for those who are in 
no condition "to enter upon the study of polemic, 
scholastic, or systematic theology. " There is no sub- 
stitute for the plain, simple truths of the gospel. So 
with no small degree of timidity, and with many mis- 
givings, the author submits his unpretentious book 
to the friends of Christianity, trusting that it may 
be helpful to all who will take the time to read and 
examine its contents. We may add concerning this 
book, as has been said by another: "Nothing dull 
comes from his pen. He not only sees the truth 
clearly, but there is a refreshing sprightliness in the 
style, which infuses it with warmth and color, and 
clothes it with beauty." 

At one time, he had prepared a little volume on 
"Baptism," and went so far as to submit it to a com- 
mittee appointed by his own conference, and they 
approved its publication, and so recommended. After 
a more careful examination, he feared it would not 
meet the demands of the times as they needed to be 
met, so it was not published. 



364 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

He also had in mind to prepare a volume of ser- 
mons, and had he lived a few months longer he, no 
doubt, would have done so. But, in the providence 
of God, "Christian Theology" was the last volume 
he wrote. It was fitting that one who had been a 
bishop of the Church for thirty-six years, and who 
had gone in and out before his brethren, helping 
them by judicious counsel and a good example, 
should, with his dying hand, give to them his most 
mature views of the God in whom he had believed, 
and whom he should soon see, and the plan of re- 
demption which had saved the chief of sinners, and 
was yet able to save all who would accept it 



CHAPTEK XXI. 

Geowing Old. 

The years have come and gone, oh, how rapidly, 
and he reaches his seventieth birthday anniversary, 
February 23, 1894. A few friends gathered to 
commemorate the event The bishop read a brief 
address, reviewing the last fifty years of his life as 
a minister of the gospel. Impromptu remarks were 
made by some of the guests present, and the bishop 
was quite hopeful and cheerful. From that address 
we make an extract: 

"Fifty years have come and disappeared since I 
entered the ministry, forty-seven of which I have 
spent in the active work. Fifty years ago, this 
Church had no colleges, no missionary society, no 
Sabbath-school organization, no Sabbath-school lit- 
erature, no church-erection board, but few houses of 
worship, and not to exceed twenty thousand mem- 
bers. To-day, we have sixteen institutions of learn- 
ing, a board of missions, scores of missionaries in 
the field, a Sabbath-school organization, with two 
hundred and twenty-eight thousand scholars en- 
rolled, three thousand houses of worship, and two 
hundred and ten thousand members. On this, my 
seventieth birthday, I rejoice, not in the labor I 
have done, but in the fact that I have been honored 

365 



366 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

with a place in the Church during these years of 
growth and prosperity. 

"The friends of my early life are nearly all gone ; 
one by one they have passed to the unseen. In the 
conference journal, where my name was written 
nearly half a century ago, it stands alone. Fifty 
other names were there when mine was put on the 
record, but not one of them remains. Three or four 
are still living, but their names are upon other jour- 
nals. What an inexplicable mystery life is ! 

"Concerning the past, I have nothing of myself 
of which I can boast. Goodness and mercy have fol- 
lowed me all the days of my life. God has given 
me friends, food, and raiment. I have had some 
dark days, but, as compared with the light and cheer- 
ing ones, they are insignificant- God has not in- 
trusted me with much of this world's treasure; he 
knew it would be better for me not to do so. The one 
regret is that I have not done more and better work 
for him from whom I have received so much. Now, 
they tell me, I am growing old. 

"Concerning the future, that to me is wrapped 
in mystery. One thing I know, that the days of the 
years of my pilgrimage must be nearing the end. 
'To be, or not to be,' with some may be a question, 
but with me it is no question at all. I be, and shall 
forever be ; not here, but there." 

In the early part of the year, the Telescope pub- 
lished three of his sermons : "Christ's Seven Utter- 
ances on the Cross," "Soul Satisfaction," and "The 
Faultless One." Articles followed on a variety of 



Growing Old 



367 



subjects: "Our Itinerant Plan" is a defense of it 
as the best way for us to work; ''Regeneration," a 
fundamental doctrine about which there should be 
no mistake; "Religion — Experimental," is to come 
within the range of conscious experience, and is not 
simply a matter of intellectual perception ; "Getting 
Ready to Start on a J ourney" reminds us that we are 
all going on a journey to another world, and special 
preparation is needed; "Kindness" wins more souls 
to Christ than can be won in any other way; "Look 
on the Bright Side," for whether we see it or not, the 
sun is always shining. 

He held Michigan, North Michigan, St Joseph, 
Sandusky, and Des Moines conferences, and his 
health held out remarkably well. He returned from 
them cheerful and happy. 

The new year opened with the celebration of the 
sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Telescope, 
and he was asked to make a brief address on "A 
Bishop's View of the Publishing House," in which 
he tells us that the first time he saw an article from 
his pen in this paper he thought the paper was 
much better than it had ever seemed before. 

His communications began with the year's open- 
ing. "The Outlook" shows that our Church environ- 
ments are favorable to growth and development; 
"Assurance" asks whether it is possible for any man 
to know, beyond a peradventure, that he is saved, 
and answers it affirmatively ; "What About Young 
Converts?" advises that they be watched over and 
encouraged; "Our Church Litigation" tells us we 



368 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

have been at it nearly six Years : he wanted to live 
long enough to see the end ; now he is seeing the be- 
ginning of the end ; before us is an open sea ; "Power 
vs. Form'' asserts that the Church is well organized ; 
what we now most need is the Christ life in the soul. 

His conferences this year were: Miami, in Day- 
ton, September 4; East Ohio, Xew Philadelphia, 
September 11; Columbia River, Western Oregon, 
October 10; Oregon, Eugene, October 21 ; California, 
Selma, Xovember 1. His wife went with him to 
the Coast Twenty years before, he had crossed the 
mountains between the Willamette and Sacramento 
Valley by stage. It did not seem as though a rail- 
road could be built across those rugged mountains. 
"All in all, our trip to and from the Coast was in- 
teresting and delightful. The outlook for the Church 
all along the Coast is hopeful. Comparatively feeble 
in health, I came out none the worse, but rather 
better than when I left home." An article in the 
paper on "'Christmas" closes the work of another 
year. 

During the winter, he was confined to his room by 
an attack of grip, and his physician had forbidden 
him to make any engagements. While he was too 
weak to travel and dedicate churches, yet he could 
still hold his pen. Then appeared an article on 
"Church Music," claiming it should not be a per- 
formance merely, but an act of spiritual worship ; in 
"'One Drop of Blood," he takes occasion to assert 
that loose views of the atonement tend to unsettle 
every other fundamental doctrine of the gospel; 



Growing Old 



369 



"Samuel, the Prophet and Statesman," should be 
held up for public admiration as an administrator 
of public affairs; "Worship," how rendered so as 
to be acceptable; "The Suffering of Christ"; "The 
Ontario Decision''; "Culture versus Spirituality" 
gives occasion to ask the question whether the culti- 
vation of the intellectual faculties is opposed to spir- 
ituality. 

In May, he went to Leipsic, to attend the funeral 
of an elder brother, Nicholas Weaver, who had died 
from cancer. For years he had been a member of 
the Church. 

His conferences for this year were : Illinois, held 
in Astoria, September 19 ; Central Illinois, Lexing- 
ton, September 16; Eock Eiver, Polo, September 
23 ; Wisconsin, Eichland Center, September 30 ; 
Minnesota, Spring Valley, October 7. Before he re- 
turned home, he visited some friends in Iowa. News- 
paper articles followed, on "Our Mission Work," 
showing that the field for aggressive work is opened 
as never before; "A Few Observations," comprising 
a few things he had learned which may be helpful 
to ministers ; "To Be, or Not to Be" ; "The General 
Conference"; "Unity"; "Love Supreme." These 
comprise the work of another year. 

In an article on "Our Itineracy," in the spring of 
1897, he writes : "I have been in the itineracy fifty- 
one year3 without a break, and I have not yet found 
anything in it arbitrary or oppressive. I am, and 
have always been satisfied with it. I do not see that 
I could have done more work, but it should have been 

24 



370 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



very much better. My first fields of labor were not 
flower gardens, and it is well they were not, for I was 
not much of a florist ; but, rough as they were, I en- 
joyed it. I always did love to work in revivals, real 
genuine revivals, where men and women were ac- 
tually converted, inside and outside. Then I liked 
those 'amen corners/ Of course, we still have the 
'corners,' but the 'aniens' have, for the most part, 
gone 'where the woodbine twineth.' " 

He held the Tennessee Conference at White Pine, 
February 24, 1897. In an article on "Our Polity — 
Economy," he shows that to mar the polity of a 
Church with no higher motive than to save a little 
expense is a very doubtful propriety. In an article 
on "Reminiscences," we find the following: "In 
those early times everything went along without any 
special reference to system. The salary of the min- 
isters ranged along almost anywhere from twenty- 
five dollars to one hundred dollars. The preachers 
were lame in philosophy, and knew nothing of the 
higher criticism ; but on the cardinal doctrines of the 
gospel they were giants. They would preach on the 
judgment and future rewards or punishments until 
one would think the day had come. Over fifty years 
ago, I entered the ministry. I have seen the Church 
grow from less than twenty thousand to two hundred 
and fifty thousand members. Two weeks ago, I met 
and worshiped with the first man I received into the 
Church, more than fifty years ago. Is it strange my 
old heart should grow a little warm as I muse and 
write of incidents of other years? Fifty years ago, 



Growing Old 



371 



there was not a graduate in the Church ; now we have 
scores and hundreds of them." 

The twenty-second General Conference of the 
United Brethren in Christ convened in Toledo, Iowa, 
May 13, 1897. Bishop Weaver, as the senior bishop, 
presided at the opening. He had prepared, for the 
most part, the bishops' quadrennial address, selec- 
tions from which were read by Bishop Mills. Bishop 
Weaver expected it to be his last address, as it 
was, and gave no little attention to it. It was a 
masterly presentation of the conditions of the 
Church and the matters that seemed, especially, to 
demand attention. 

During a little lull in business, on the third day, 
Bishop Weaver asked to make a few remarks: 
"Forty years ago, I was present at my first General 
Conference, which convened at Cincinnati, and, by 
the blessing of God, I have been a member of each 
gathering from that time until now. There are, this 
morning, present four who were members of that 
Conference, all that are left — Brother Shuck, 
Brother W. C. Smith, Brother Shuey, and myself. 
Will these brethren stand up ? We four were there, 
and we bid you younger members of this Conference 
be true to God, true to yourselves, and true to the 
Church you are here to represent. May the blessing 
of Almighty God fall upon you all." 

The "Home of the Soul" was sung, and Bishop 
Castle led in a touching prayer for each one of these 
four, and for the presence of the Spirit with all. It 
was a melting hour, many sorrowing, because, in all 



372 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

probability, it was the last time he should meet with 
them. 

At this Conference, a brother made a brief address 
as fraternal delegate from the Evangelical Lutheran 
Church. Bishop Weaver was asked to respond to 
the same, which he did very appropriately, ending 
with the following paragraph: "Take back to your 
brethren the kindly feelings of this General Confer- 
ence, and if some trouble should arise in your synod, 
as it arises in these general gatherings once in a 
while, and there should be a United Brethren there, 
as I hope there may be, you may just appoint a com- 
mittee to wait on him, and ascertain how these 
troubles are settled, for we have gone through a little 
brush, and know just exactly how to do it" 

When the time came for the election of bishops, 
the rules were suspended, and Bishop Weaver was 
elected bishop emeritus by acclamation. He re- 
sponded briefly to calls made for him: "I do not 
know that I can do more than to say that I thank 
you sincerely from the depths of my heart for this 
expression of love and kindness and tenderness to 
me. What surprises me most of all is my conscious- 
ness of unworthiness of this honor. As you have 
placed me in this position and in this condition, I 
shall do the very best I know." 

The conferences assigned him for 1897 were: 
White Kiver, at Greentown, Indiana, September 1 ; 
St. J oseph, Frankfort, Indiana, September 8 ; East 
Ohio, Ashland, Ohio, September 16; Lower Wabash, 
'Clay City, Indiana, September 22. 



Growing Old 



373 



His health in the middle of the summer was some- 
what critical, but he grew better as the hot months 
passed. He furnished the readers of the Telescope 
with some "Scattering Thoughts in the Sick Room" ; 
later, "The Pulpit," a plea for the preaching of the 
simple truths of the gospel; "An Ancient Hero," a 
eulogy on Joshua; "What and How to Read," an 
article for the Thanksgiving and book number of 
the Telescope; "How to Reach the Masses" resolves 
itself into a deeper spirituality in the Church, a 
genuine revival born of God. 

Finding it inconvenient to attend First Church, 
of which, for some time, he had be k en a member, 
October 10, 1897, he and his wife transferred their 
membership to Oak Street Church, because, owing 
to infirmity, and this church being so close to his 
home, he could more readily reach it than he could 
his former church home. 

During the winter of 1897-98, he kept close to 
his room, partly because of his uncertain health, and 
by the advice of his physician, and partly because he 
was at work on a treatise, which he afterwards pub- 
lished, on "Christian Theology." He first appeared 
in the issue of the Telescope of April 13. In spite 
of his enfeebled condition, his interest in the Church 
had not abated. Previous to this, he had footed up 
the reported conversions, and found them about two 
thousand: "I tell you, it made my old heart glad. 
Every once in a while, I feel like picking up my 
grip and starting out, as in the days of yore, but I 
am quickly reminded that cannot be. After spend- 



374 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



ing fifty and two years in the active work, without 
a break, it is no easy matter to be compelled to re- 
main for weeks and months in your room." He then 
proceeds, in an interesting article, to tell how well 
organized we are for work, and that we must care- 
fully look after our polity, our doctrine, our denomi- 
national spirit, and our spirituality, if we would con- 
tinue to grow. 

He was able to be present and preside at the meet- 
ing of the Board of Missions, in Dayton, Ohio, May 
6, 1898. About the seventeenth of May, he and his 
wife left Dayton to visit their children and friends 
in Grand Rapids, Lament, and Lansing, Michigan, 
the main object being the recuperation of the bishop's 
health. 

At the meeting of the bishops in Dayton, Ohio, 
April 30, it was arranged that Bishop Weaver should 
hold the following conferences: Upper Wabash, 
September 7, at Brook, Newton County, Indiana; 
North Ohio, September 15 ; Des Moines, Ames, Iowa, 
September 28. He says: "Not being able to do full 
work, I simply chip in and help the others out For 
that reason, my diocese has no name ; but we do not 
want to be considered any the less honorable for the 
want of a name." 

Late in May, he writes from Lament, Michigan: 
"I have been fishing several times, and have had 
fair success. I am trying to have a real outing. The 
object is to improve my health, if possible. I am 
very weak, with a poor appetite, so that, altogether, 
I am not getting along very well." In the issue of 



Growing Old 



375 



the Telescope for June 15, there is a letter from him 
written from Lamont, Michigan, telling how he is 
trying to improve his health by fishing and outdoor 
exercise. Following this, he expresses his deep sor- 
row over the tragic fate of the African missionaries, 
but he says : "We must not falter, nor for a moment 
entertain the thought of abandoning the field. The 
history of the church is a history of martyrs. Who 
knows but the good seed sown in the field, instead of 
being destroyed, is only scattered over a broader field 
than it otherwise could have been?" 

"As the shadows of life's evening tree are thicken- 
ing about me, I am inclined to look over the past. 
It seems to me that the fifty-two years which I have 
spent in the ministry have not yielded the amount of 
fruit they should have done. I do not know that I 
could have done more work, but it should have been 
a great deal better. If in the end I am saved, it will 
be through the abundant grace of God, and not for 
anything I have done. How insignificant our works 
-appear when the light of eternity shines upon them." 

He writes again from the same place, July 6, re- 
porting some improvement in health; becomes remi- 
niscent, and speaks of the great improvement in the 
quality and amount of our literature, and yet it is 
not well for us to go too fast He finds it pleasant to 
get away from the dust and fracas of the city into 
a quiet little village, where everybody knows every- 
body else; he expresses grief that the Sabbath is not 
better observed, even by Christian people. He apolo- 
gizes for his rambling letter, as he calls it, by saying : 



376 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



"I want to do something. After fifty-two years of 
continual service, no matter how poor and imperfect 
it may have been, it is hard to sit down and do noth- 
ing. I am trying to be contented." 

He returned home July 15, and on the Sabbath 
following preached in the Oak Street Church. J uly 
24 and 31, he preached in the First Lutheran Church. 
His rest in Michigan did him good. For the Tele- 
scope of November 23, he wrote an article on 
"Thanksgiving." He peached some in the city, but 
declined to go away during the winter because of 
feeble health. In the last issue of the Telescope for 
1898, he furnishes an interesting and cheery article, 
entitled, "Good-by, Old Year." 

January, 1899, finds him sick for a couple of 
weeks, but when able to use his pen at work on 
his book, entitled "Heaven." Later, an article ap- 
pears from his pen on "Experience," in which he 
pleads that more prominence shall be given to that 
"grand old doctrine of a personal conscious experi- 
ence of religion. We need more experimental preach- 
ing, more experimental testimonies, more experi- 
mental religion in the heart, as well as in the life." 
Another, entitled, "Our Church — What It Is, What 
It Has Done" ; it has always been thoroughly evan- 
gelical ; its polity is a growth, and is unique ; there is 
no oppression anywhere ; its spirit is to recognize 
Christians wherever found. In "Drifting," he asks 
if the Church is drifting heavenward or worldward, 
with a strong intimation that the latter expresses the 
present trend. 



Growing Old 



377 



After the meetings of the various boards of which 
he was a member, he and his wife left for Michigan, 
where he expected to remain some two months with 
his children, hoping for an improvement in his health. 

May 31, he furnished an article on "Sensibility in 
Religion/ 7 in which he insists that we must not only 
provide for the cultivation of the intellect, and the 
exercise of the will, but we must also make liberal 
provision for the sensibilities. The tendency of to 
day is to ignore the emotional in religion. In a per- 
sonal letter to the editor, he wrote: "I have often 
said, especially to young ministers, that it takes grit 
and grace to go forward, but I find it takes more of 
both not to go forward. There are so many things 
I should like to do, but cannot do them. Over and 
above everything, the Lord reigns." 

He returned to Dayton about July 19, somewhat 
improved, and preached at Germantown on the 
twenty-third, at the reopening of the church, which 
had recently been repaired. In an article on "What 
of the Future?" he discussed the dangers which 
threaten us from capital and labor, trusts and monop- 
olies, the rum power, political conflicts, the assault 
on the American Sabbath, and the Sunday newspa- 
pers. "Putting all these evils together, and observ- 
ing how rapidly they are growing, who can predict 
what the state of things may be twenty-five years 
hence ?" 

He was present at the Miami Conference that met 
in Cincinnati, August 24, at which he made a talk 
emphasizing the importance of the development of 



378 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



a symmetrical Christian character ; he urged the edu- 
cation of the whole man, not only the physical, intel- 
lectual, and social nature, but the spiritual as well. 
He emphasized this by the following illustration, 
"Brethren, go up the intellectual ladder as high as 
ever, and as far as you can, but after that take a 
round on Jacob's ladder, and touch the heavens." 
Later, an article, "He Will Come/' appeared, in 
which he discussed the second coming of Christ. 

An interesting incident occurred at the Rock River 
Conference, which he held September 25. He was 
in feeble health, but preached on Sabbath morning 
for nearly an hour, with his old-time vigor. Follow- 
ing the sermon, came the baptism of an infant. 
"There was the beginning of life receiving a blessing 
from the hands of one whose snowy locks were al- 
ready waving with the breezes of eternity. It was 
a picture that angels admired, and over which strong 
men wept." 

On November 15, he writes on "How to Conduct 
Revivals." On December 13, he asks, "Is There too 
Much Organization?" 

He begins the year 1900 with an interesting ar- 
ticle on "The Ministerial Dead-Line," in which he 
combats the modern notion of retiring ministers at 
sixty, no matter how strong or cultured or able they 
are: "If Luther had been retired at sixty, the 
Reformation would have been greatly hindered. If 
John Wesley and his coadjutors had been retired at 
sixty, the great Methodist Church might not have 
been organized. If William Otterbein and his co- 



Growing Old 



379 



laborers had been retired at sixty, it is doubtful if 
the United Brethren Church would have been in ex- 
istence. Age should not enter into this question. 
Let ability, piety of life, and success be the standard, 
and not years." Later, he writes on "Short Ser- 
mons"; any attempt to limit to a definite, precise 
time is unwise; some say thirty minutes, and no 
more. "Can it be that persons thus minded realize 
that the gospel is a message from God to the people ?" 

He preached in Oak Street Church in January, 
1900. The week was stormy, but the papers had an- 
nounced that it might be the last sermon that he 
would ever preach, and this brought a houseful of 
hearers. The subject was, "Christian Discipleship." 
(Luke 9: 23.) The argument^ matter, delivery, and 
effect of the sermon were excellent He had never 
preached from this text before. He spoke fifty min- 
utes with marvelous strength. He remarked at the 
close, with a merry twinkle in his eye: "The papers 
say this will be my last sermon. It may be, but if I 
live, it will not be, and if this should be my last mes- 
sage, I want it to be true, plain, and honest" 

February 21, 1900, he furnished an article on 
"Walking Through the Valley," in which he wrote: 
"Of the millions and billions of those who have gone 
from us, not one has returned to describe his experi- 
ence while passing through the valley of the shadow 
of death. All is wrapped in the most profound mys- 
tery. We cannot know, if we would. But there are 
many questions which are suggested to the mind as 
we contemplate that mysterious journey. Going 



380 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



from one world to another, from one mode of exist- 
ence to another, from one state of society to another, 
and from one condition to another, is no ordinary 
event Is the soul distinctly conscious that the time 
has come when it must quit this clay tenement ? Does 
it experience pleasure or regret at being separated 
from the body ? Does it, or can it look back to see 
the earthly house where it dwelt for a time % What 
are the thoughts of the past and the future % What 
are the first impressions of the soul when the now 
invisible is made visible ? How will the things ma- 
terial and immaterial appear to the opened vision 
of the soul as viewed from the immaterial side? 
These, and like questions must remain unanswered 
until the gate is lifted and we fly away." 

He further illustrated this by an incident of his 
earlier years : 

"Years ago, while passing through what was then 
the territory of Idaho, by stage, we came to a desert 
The day was exceedingly hot, and the dust mixed 
with alkali made it very disagreeable. A while be- 
fore sundown, we entered a pass through a mountain 
which was altogether different from the desert over 
which we had traveled all day. It was about ten 
miles long, and five miles wide, and covered with 
grass and flowers. A stream of water almost as clear 
as crystal flowed through the midst of it Altogether, 
it was one of the most beautiful valleys I had ever 
looked upon. The mountain to the west was very 
high, as was also the mountain to the east It being 
nearly sundown, the shadow of the mountain to the 



Growing Old 381 

west fell across the valley and part way up the moun- 
tain to the east. There we were in the shadow, but 
it was neither dark nor gloomy. The light, reflected 
from the mountain peaks to the east, fell back over 
the valley and lifted whatever gloom there might 
otherwise have been. As I took in the situation, the 
thought came to me that this must be very like the 
shadow of death. As the Christian enters this valley, 
the shadow of the cold mountains may, and doubt- 
less will fall across it ; but a strange, beautiful light, 
reflected from the peaks of the mountains on the 
heaven side, falling back across the valley, will lift 
and dispel whatever gloom might otherwise be there. 
I had never gone that way, but I was not afraid, for 
I was not alone* The driver, having gone over the 
way before, knew all about it, and assured me that it 
was perfectly safe. So in passing through that other 
valley, the Christian will not be alone. He who said, 
'I am Alpha and Omega/ also said, 'I will never 
leave thee nor forsake thee/ not even in the Welling 
of Jordan/ " 



CHAPTEE XXII. 



A Voice from Beulah Land. 

Bishop Weaver's seventy-sixth birthday occurred 
February 23, 1900. He was at home at the time, 
and this gave an opportunity to some of his more 
intimate friends to call on him and his wife, who 
had walked by his side, and helped to carry his bur- 
dens for some forty-five years. Following the greetr 
ings, there was a brief religious service, after which, 
in behalf of the company, Dr. I. L. Kephart pre- 
sented the bishop and his wife with a beautiful couch 
and a Morris chair. He responded in an appropriate 
address, which we have been asked to insert entire, 
as it was the last of the kind he ever made. It was 
an occasion not soon to be forgotten. He was in 
feeble health, and sat while making the address. Dr. 
Kephart called it "a voice from Beulah Land" : 

"Beloved friends and neighbors, to-day I say good- 
by to the seventy-sixth mile-stone of my pilgrimage 
from the cradle to the grave; and I desire, first of 
all, above everything else, to put upon record my 
sincere gratitude to Almighty God for his loving 
kindnesses to me during all the years past. If I 
would declare and speak of them, they are more than 
can be numbered. What shall I, what can I render 
unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? My 

382 



A Voice from Beulah Land 383 

chief regret is, that I am not a better man, and that 
I have not done more and better work. But the 
record is made, and I cannot go back to change a 
single word or act But God is good, and can forgive. 
There are times when a peculiar sense of loneli- 
ness steals over my heart. Not that the friends about 
me are cold and unkind, but because nearly all the 
friends of other years have gone from ma I cannot 
recall the name of a single minister, now living, 
that was in the Church when I united with it, and 
not to exceed a dozen members. Concerning my own 
family connections, the change is about the same. 
I am the youngest of twelve children, and remem- 
ber when there were thirteen of us, including father 
and mother (one brother having died) ; but now only 
two remain. One by one they entered the valley of 
the shadow of death, and I saw them no more. But 
memory, true to her trust, will not erase their names, 
and often passes the record before the mind's ever- 
wakeful eye. Do you wonder that now and then I 
feel lonely ? Would it not be strange if I never felt 
thus? 

"Marvelous changes, in both church and state, 
have occurred during the days of the years of my 
pilgrimage. Some of these were, doubtless, wise, 
and some, may be, were otherwise. If some one who 
lived seventy-six years ago had been taken away and 
now brought back, he would hardly believe that it 
is the same old world. Especially is this true of 
the United States. Let me mention three things — 
the railroads, the utilization of steam, and electricity. 



384 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



But little was known of these in the days of my 
boyhood. What would we do to-day without them ? 
To realize the difference, one must have lived then 
and now. Vast changes have also taken place in the 
agricultural, commercial, professional, and various 
business and social departments. 

"But some things remain about as they were. The 
sun, moon, and stars continue to move in their same 
old grooves, and at a speed that utterly bewilders us. 
The earth turns on its axis and makes it annual jour- 
ney around the sun, just as it did in the long ago. 
The lightning's flash, the thunder's roll, and the 
aurora borealis continue to challenge our wonder and 
admiration, the same as they did threescore and ten 
years ago. The roses, lilacs, and lilies continue to 
bloom and emit their odors the same as in the days 
of yore. The birds sing their same old songs and 
build their nests after the same pattern as in the 
long ago. The bee constructs its cell on the same 
general plan it did in former ages, and the warmth 
of its touch is similiar to what it was when I was a 
boy. By the combined action of certain fixed laws 
and forces, old nature will repeat herself over and 
over as the years come and go. The changes which 
have been going on during the ages past, for the most 
part, are traceable to man. Standing, as we do, in 
the last year of the last decade of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, we look over the past and peer into the future, 
and ask, What next ? 

"Changes not a few have occurred in the church 
general. Forms and ceremonies remain substantially 



A Voice from JBeulah JLarid 385 



the same, except that a few have been made more 
prominent The relation between the several 
branches of the church family has grown more cor- 
dial. New conditions have arisen, and new methods 
have been adopted to meet these new conditions. 
Whether or not all these changes have been wise, the 
fruits thereof must be the witness. 

"As a denomination, we are not as we were three- 
score and ten years ago. We have more Christianity, 
but proportionately less religion. Lest some of you 
might say this is a distinction without a difference, 
I will explain. The cardinal doctrines of the Bible 
are better and more generally understood than they 
were sixty years ago; but the personal and experi- 
mental enjoyment of these divine truths has not in- 
creased with this increased knowledge. In former 
times, but little attention was given to culture. In- 
deed, the majority of the ministers with whom I came 
in touch were opposed to education. It was not at 
all uncommon to hear colleges and seminaries de- 
nounced from the pulpit. Many times I have heard 
ministers boastingly say that they had never rubbed 
their backs against a college or seminary. But they 
almost said, 'See how I can preach without an edu- 
cation.' That was evidently what they wanted the 
people to understand. The one supreme object 
seemed to be to arouse the sensibilities. A minister 
who could not make, or cause to be made, a good 
deal of racket was not considered a success, and was 
but little sought after. I remember that on one occa- 
sion our pastor was holding a protracted meeting 

25 



386 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



in a private house. He had not succeeded as he had 
anticipated. So, one evening, the house being 
crowded and very warm, he drew off his coat> and r 
with fire in his eye, said, 'By the grace of God, I 
will make you feel.' He succeeded, at last, in 
having quite a racket, mostly, however, in and with 
himself. 

" Church-houses in those days were very scarce* 
Services were held in barns, schoolhouses, and pri- 
vate residences. My first charge was a mission, two 
hundred miles around, with seventeen appointments^ 
all in schoolhouses. My salary was eighty dollars^ 
spot cash, and I enjoyed the work hugely. 

"Itinerating in those earlier years was quite dif- 
ferent from what it is now. The membership sixty 
years ago did not exceed twenty thousand. The cir- 
cuits were large, ranging from fifty to two hundred 
miles around. There were no railroads, and but few 
buggies. The traveling was nearly all done on horse- 
back. We had no Sabbath schools, no literature for 
children, and none for the adults except the Tele- 
scope, which, at that time, was an innocent little 
affair. We had no books of our own, expect a hymn- 
book and Discipline. We had no colleges, no Semi- 
nary, and no institutions of learning of any kind. 
We had no missionary nor church-erection societies ; 
no young people's society of either juniors or seniors. 
!Not having any of these things, you will naturally 
ask what we did have ? Well, we had some common 
sense, some religion, a good deal of zeal, a small per 
cent, of Christianity, and the mourner's bench. We 



A Voice from Beulah Land 



387 



made more racket in one protracted meeting than is 
now made in five dozen of such meetings. Maybe 
we overdid it then, and maybe we underdo it now. 
Those who think that itinerating is hard now should 
have been in the field a half a century ago. And 
those who think the Church has moved slowly, if at 
all, should have walked with her for the past sixty 
years. 

"In one way and another, I have been connected 
with every advanced movement made in and by the 
Church during the past threescore years ; not in the 
lead, but in the rank and file. And now last, but not 
least, I am received as a member of the Young Peo- 
ple's Junior society. There is an old adage which 
says, 'Twice a child, and once a man.' In my first 
childhood I had no such connection because there was 
no such society ; but it has come in my second child- 
hood, so that, in the race of life, I am not so far be- 
hind. 

"But the tables have turned — maybe in some re- 
spects a little too much. Not that we should have 
any less culture, but a great deal more experience — 
more of the joy, peace, and comfort that come in 
connection with a personal, conscious knowledge that 
we are saved. Christ's religion is the only religion 
that comes within the realm of conscious experience. 
But the history of past ages teaches us that one ex- 
treme is almost certain to follow another, so that it 
is difficult to stand on middle ground. The sensibili- 
ties are as much the gift of God as the intellect. Both 
are given us to be used. This is as true in religion 



388 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



as it is in anything else. A religion that dwells in 
the intellect alone is incomplete. So, also, is a re- 
ligion that dwells in the sensibilities alone. The 
religion revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures is in- 
tended for the whole man. Under its divine influ- 
ence and control, the intellect, the will, and the sensi- 
bilities will move in complete harmony with each 
other and the will of God. 

"But a change has come over me personally. I am 
not what I was, nor as I was a while ago. I am 
the same identical Jonathan Weaver. I am neither 
a know-nothing nor a so-called Christian Scientist. 
I know something and am something. In the contest 
of life, I have not lost my conscious identity; but, 
from some cause or another, I am not as I was. I 
remember when the shadow of life's tree fell west- 
ward. It must have been morning then. I remember 
when the shadow fell northward. It must have been 
noontime then. But now it falls eastward, and it 
must be evening time now. 

"But looking westward, despite the thick foliage 
of the trees that stand along the banks of the river, 
I now and then catch glimpses of what seems to be 
a country — a real, substantial place. These glimpses 
come at all hours, by day and by night, winter and 
summer, but at no time has there ever appeared a 
shadow or any gloom. So I conclude that they have 
no night in that country. I sometimes catch glimpses 
of domes, spires, and towers, but no monuments, or 
anything that resembles a cemetery, so I conclude 
that there is no death over there. Beautiful forms 



A Voice from Beulah Land 



389 



pass and repass before my vision, but they are 
quickly gone — just a glimpse, and they are gone. 

"I turn to the materialistic skeptic and ask for an 
explanation of these strange and yet delightful 
glimpses. He says it is nothing — only a fancy, a 
delusion. Death ends all — forever and ever. I turn 
to the agnostic with the same question, and he says, 
'I don't know/ What shall I do ? I cannot go back, 
for it is evening time now, and the sun is almost 
down. Shut in on all sides, with only a step between 
me and the grave, and nothing before me but anni- 
hilation — eternal nothingness. Again, I ask, What 
shall I do ? To whom shall I go ? Are all the hopes, 
longings, aspirations, and expectations about to per- 
ish forever? Wherein, then, lies the difference be- 
tween not beginning to be and ceasing to be ? It will 
be as if we had not been at all. Can it be that nature, 
reason, and consciousness have been playing false 
with us? Are they nothing more than miserable 
cheats concerning the most important and far-reach- 
ing problem of human existence ? Is there no justice, 
love, or mercy anywhere in the universe? Is there 
no God other than one of cruelty and deception ? 
The case is becoming desperate, for the mists are be- 
ginning to fall, and the roar of the ocean's waves, 
borne upon the wings of the wind, is beginning to fall 
upon the ear. Pity the sorrows of a poor old man 
standing within a step of eternal nothingness ! 

"Hark ! a voice from beyond the moon and stars, 
like the chime of a thousand silver-toned bells, comes 
ringing down, exclaiming, ' Immortality V In re- 



390 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

sponse to that there come springing up like angels 
from the temple of the heart the simple words: 
'Hallelujah. Amen and amen. Immortality/ Then 
my glimpses are not all fancy and miserable cheats, 
but real. If there is anything true, anything firm, 
anything that abides, it is immortality — life everlast- 
ing and heaven. If from under the shadow of life's 
evening tree such glimpses may be had, how will it 
appear when the shadows are all gone, the clouds 
lifted, and the mists rolled away? The half 
has not been seen by mortal eyes, the half is not now 
understood. By and by the glass through which we 
now see darkly will be removed, and we shall see as 
we are seen, and know as we are known. 

"My beloved friends and sojourners with me 
through the land of the dead and dying to the land 
of the living, I thank you for coming to my humble 
home this evening; and she with whom I have jour- 
neyed these forty-five years, who has borne her full 
part of the cares, burdens, and hardships incident to 
the life of an itinerant minister, joins with me in 
thanking you for your coming here to-night, and for 
the unmistakable tokens of your kindly feeling and 
well wishes toward us. This will ever be an oasis, 
coming to us in the evening time of life. By your 
presence, kindly words, looks, and acts, you give me 
courage and strength to say good-by to the seventy- 
sixth mile-stone of my pilgrimage journey without a 
tear or a sigh. Whether or not I shall live on earth 
to pass another mile-stone, I leave with Him who 
doeth all things well. With all my imperfections, 



A Voice from JBeulah Land 



391 



.and despite the failures of my life, I am at peace 
with the world. I have no fault to find with any- 
body nor with anything, except sin. Beloved, in that 
country to which we are going there are no mile- 
stones, no cemeteries, no night — just one never-end- 
ing day, with ever-increasing delights and pleasures. 
Now we say good-evening — then it will be good- 
morning." 

Because of feeble health, he was not able to attend 
the annual meeting of the Church-Erection and Mis- 
sionary boards, at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, April 18, 
so he wrote : 

"Brethren, beloved in the Lord, if memory serves 
me correctly, this is the first time in thirty-five years 
that I have failed to be present at the meetings of 
the boards. I did not surrender the thought of be- 
ing with you until yesterday. Indeed, I hardly think 
that I surrendered at all. But the tabernacle in 
which I live, owing to a recent heavy storm which beat 
upon it, is so out of repair that it must be looked 
after at once. One of the severest trials of my life 
is to be compelled to remain at home when I so much 
desire to be in the field. The joy and pleasure of 
my life is, and has been, to do what I can for Him 
who did so much for me. A thousand lives of active 
service would not, in real value, pay back one farth- 
ing of the price he paid for me. 

"The truths of the gospel were never so precious 
to me as now. There is an excellency in the knowl- 
edge of J esus Christ our Lord that surpasses all other 
knowledge. The whole world should know the Christ, 



392 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



and it is a part of our business to aid in spreading 
abroad the knowledge of his name. If it should please 
the Master to restore me sufficient strength, there is 
a little more work I should love to do before I go 
hence. Fifty and five years of almost constant labor 
appear to be such a trifle as compared with what I 
have received, that I am exceedingly anxious to 
do something more if I can. I trust that I am not 
sectarian, but, for good and sufficient reasons, I love 
the spirit and polity of the United Brethren Church. 
Within her pale I love to work; within her pale I 
wish to finish the days of the years of my pilgrimage, 
and from her pale I want to go away to be with Him 
whom I have so imperfectly served. To his name bo 
honor and praise evermore. 

"Brethren, when you pray, do not forget to men- 
tion my name to the Master. 

"Your brother, 

"J. Weaver." 

As soon as able to walk about, he visited the Pub- 
lishing House, where the trustees were in session, 
dropped into the meeting, and made a brief, inspiring 
address, which brought tears to all eyes. 

In a communication to the Telescope, entitled, 
"Some One Please Explain," he wants to know 
whether or not the practice of evangelical denomina- 
tions to-day is in harmony with their cardinal truths. 
Is what we hear from the pulpit the gospel of Christ, 
pure and simple ? Is the service, including singing, 
praying, and preaching, up to our ideal of a spiritual 
service? In "Here and There, Now and Then," he 



A Voice from Beulah Land 



393 



enforces Paul's teachings, where he resolved to forget 
the things behind, count them all loss, and press on 
for what there was before him. 

In June, he left Dayton for Michigan, to visit his 
children and to seek a more refreshing atmosphere. 
He writes from Grand Kapids, Michigan, as follows : 

"Everything is uncertain with me now. Tottering 
along in the valley, not far from the crossing, one 
experiences what he could not anticipate while as- 
cending or descending the mountains leading into 
the valley. It is not dark and gloomy, as I thought 
it might be. The sun still shines as brightly as it 
did in the long ago. Then, too, I occasionally catch 
glimpses of what seems to be a silver lining on the 
other side of the clouds, over the valley, the same as 
over the mountains, but they are not any more threat- 
ening than when on the summit of life's mountain. 
Life, with all its ten thousand incidents and details, 
is a mystery. What a curious thing it is to live. 
The more I think about it the less I know about it. 
Thank God for the promise of an endless life. Maybe, 
when in full possession of that endless life, under 
conditions far more favorable, we shall know more 
about it." 

A little later, he writes again: "I find that this 
house in which I have lived for seventy-six years is 
quite out of repair, and, so far as I can see and under- 
stand, it is not the purpose of the Builder to put any 
more substantial repairs upon it. But he has more 
than intimated to me (through his Word) that he 
will some time change it so that it will be better than 



394 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



it ever was. I am trying to be patient and contented 
with my lot, though there is not an hour, and has not 
been for six months, that I felt well, much of the time 
being real sick." 

In August appeared his "Christian Theology." It 
had been written in more condensed form some years 
before, but was now thoroughly reviewed and en- 
larged, and is his last, and one of his most important 
contributions to the literature of the Church. About 
the same time, he returned from Michigan, with his 
health but little improved. 

He held Lower Wabash Conference in Olney, Illi- 
nois, September 5. He was in feeble health, but able 
to preach on Sabbath and conduct ordination services. 
He had held this conference for the first time about 
thirty-five years before, at Parkersburg, Illinois, just 
eleven miles south of Olney. 

Following this, came Illinois Conference, near New 
Philadelphia, on September 12. The writer reached 
conference on Friday, September 14. Bishop Weaver 
was very feeble; he had had a sick spell the day 
before. He was too unwell to have left home, but he 
said he did not like to quit work. During one of the 
sessions he said : 

"Brethren, how can you go forth without divine 
help ? You are going out as Christ's shepherds, his 
teachers. Can you go out and about your work and 
spend a whole year without any souls ? You do not 
need to do so if you go with God's help. Now I want 
a season of prayer — half a dozen of you at once kneel- 
ing. You do not need to pray all over the work. 



A Voice from Beulah Land 



395 



What do you need now? Gather all you have and 
put all on the altar. We talk much of the old land- 
marks. I think we need to make some changes, but 
we must not rely too much on method. Above all 
methods, we need the influence of the Spirit. 

"Preachers should have a rich experience, and put 
more of it into their sermons. When Paul was ar- 
rested, he did little more than tell his experience. 
The eyes of all will be upon you, young men. Do 
not be 'dudish/ I would advise you, but dress 
like a minister. No matter how cheaply you dress, 
be clean and neat ; keep your face clean, your hands, 
your hair. Be modest, unassuming, but be social. 
Keep your sociability within proper bounds, and do 
not let it slop over. The proper reading of Scripture 
is very important. Study to put the emphasis where 
it belongs. Some read very rapidly, in order to get 
through. Study how to read it properly. Watch your 
demeanor in the pulpit. Some persons stand like 
a block with no inspiration to them. Others rant, run 
across the platform, smite with their hands, and 
stamp with their feet. Take the average, and be not 
too boisterous. 

"There are no truths in the universe that will hold 
men like the gospel. Some seek to discuss abstract 
or metaphysical questions, and when done the people 
will say it was nice, but that is the end of it. I have 
talked with our best men, and they say, When we 
go to church we want to hear a sermon, and not a 
lecture. When we want to hear the latter, we go 
where we can get it A good sermon must have Christ 



396 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



in it It will take all of your life to preach all there 
is in one little adverb, W — 'God so loved the world.' 
How long will it take you to find out that the gospel 
includes all there is that is pure and good in the uni- 
verse ? Do you want to preach on astronomy ? Go 
over to the Psalms, and you can easily find a text 
where God is recognized. On botany? 'Consider 
the lilies.' On geology % ' Their rock is not as our 
rock.' On the wind? 'The wind bloweth where it 
listeth.' You can find Christ in all of these. So 
preach every sermon that people will go away hav- 
ing heard of the cross of Christ 

"To those of you who live in towns, please appear 
on the streets like a preacher. Don't sit on store-boxes 
and whittle. That is very poor business for a 
preacher. Be modest, upright, a man, a preacher. 
Some preachers talk too much. When you make a 
pastoral visit, remember it is different from a social 
visit A pastoral visit should not be over fifteen min- 
utes in length. Exercise good sense. If the family 
is busy, call again. Don't pass the door of the poor. 
It is a crime to treat them coldly. Finally, seek for 
and obtain a deep spirituality. Study on your knees, 
and learn the value of the closet life. Go out with 
your heart and mind and soul determined on this one 
thing, 'I must win souls to Christ this year.' Let this 
be the chief aim this year. I have been coming to 
you for thirty-five years. I have been in the field 
for fifty-five years. Some say I should return, but I 
think I should give the place to some one who can 
do better work. I want to stay in the field until the 



A Voice from Beulah Land 



397 



sun goes down. Let me have a little corner, where I 
can say 'Amen' to your work. Some bright morning, 
some glad day, when conferences are all over and the 
work all done, we shall meet again. What would 
I do if death ended all? — a step or two, and then 
drop into everlasting nothingness. The evening 
would be as dark as Egypt. It is evening with me 
now. The shadows are growing, but through the 
deep foliage I once in a while get a glimpse of a 
country beyond this. I cannot hold it long, for it 
is only a glimpse. Beyond the region of storms and 
clouds there is another country. I cannot now say 
more. God bless you abundantly.' ' 

He sat down overcome with the effort, and the con- 
gregation sang, "How sweet it will be in that beau- 
tiful land." 

Just before the reading of the report of the station- 
ing committee, he made a few appropriate remarks : 
"Brethren, you cannot all get the places you want. 
We tried to give each one of you the best fields, but 
there were not enough to go round. If you get a hard 
field, make it the best field this year. Ezekiel once 
attended a conference where there were only two 
members present. The committee sent him to 'Dry 
Bones Circuit.' Some of you may think you have 
such a field. Ezekiel had no appropriation made to 
him. There was no missionary society behind him ; 
but he went and looked at his field. There did not 
seem to be much prospect of success, but the Lord 
told him to preach, and gave him a message. He 
faithfully did the work, and it was not long until 



398 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



there was a movement in this dead valley, and these 
bones were each seeking their fellows, and in a little 
time a mass of living beings stood before him. His 
work had been a success. If the Lord sends you to 
'Dry Bones Circuit/ go and do your duty, and he 
who blessed Ezekiel will bless you and direct you.'' 
This was the last address he ever made at an annual 
conference. 

He was too miserable and too feeble to venture 
out and speak to the people on Sabbath, as the day 
was quite blustery. At his request, the writer tried 
to talk for him. He had a little talk with him in 
the evening, and told him how he enjoyed work. 
"Yes," the bishop answered, "and I do too. I do 
not like to quit work. It has been the joy of my 
life." He started home on Monday morning, hoping 
to rest a little, in order to meet the Michigan Con- 
ference, which convened on October 11. He was 
not able to be present, and W. M. Weekley acted as 
his substitute. The year closed with articles from 
his pen on "Whither Bound?" "Eevivals," "Twenty 
Thousand and Upwards," and "A Greeting to the 
Twentieth Century." It was evident his days of work 
were well-nigh numbered. 

For the last ten or a dozen years of his life, the 
bishop was greatly afflicted with some disease of the 
stomach. The doctors who examined him professed 
not to be able to tell its precise nature. He was ac- 
customed to say that if he could only secure a new 
stomach, he would be good for many years' work. 
The trouble may have been occasioned in part by 



A Voice from Beulah Land 



399 



irregular and improper eating; in part by the too 
frequent use of strong medicines, but, whatever the 
cause, the trouble grew as years advanced, and, by 
degrees, gradually unfitted him for work. At first 
these paroxysms of pain w T ould come on once a week, 
and, when over, there would be a few days of rest. 
Later, they came every day, and, while the pain would 
measurably cease, the prostration that followed would 
continue most of the day. 

During the last three months of his life, the writer 
visited him frequently to talk with him concerning 
his earlier life. During much of this time he found 
him in bed, with some paper, a slate, and a pencil 
tied to it. His desire to write clung to him to the 
last. When the pain had subsided, and a thought 
would come to him, down it went on his paper. It 
was hard to get much information, as the memory 
was also failing, and the few items gathered had to 
be filled in as they would most appropriately join 
together. At times, he was more or less under 
the influence of opiates, to relieve his excruciating 
pain. 

One day, he was a little brighter, and, speaking of 
himself, he said : "Sometimes I get a little discour- 
aged. A very little thing will turn the tide either 
way. I sometimes think I should like to live a little 
longer, as there are a few more things I should like 
to do. When I look back over my past life, I do not 
seem to have done much. When I was in the midst 
of its affairs they seemed very important, but now 
that they are all over, they don't seem to have 



400 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



amounted to much. I try to be patient, however, and 
submit to whatever the Master thinks best." 

The WTiter said to him, one day, "Have you kept 
any copies of letters written to others, or preserved 
any that you have received?" "!Nfo," he answered, 
"I soon found they were in the way of my moving, 
and then they did not, at the time, seem very im- 
portant. Many of them were mostly local, and I 
threw them away. Some, no one saw but myself. 
They were abuses, and I did not want any one to see 
them." Again, I said to him, "If you had known 
that you would have been a bishop in the Church for 
thirty-five years, you would doubtless have kept a 
fuller record of your life and work ?" "Yes, possibly 
I should, but I never thought of anything of this 
kind. We do not know in time what is the best thing 
for us to do." 

One day, the writer met him and said, "Do you feel 
any better to-day?" "ISTo, I cannot say that I do. 
I seem to be gradually growing weaker. The fight 
is going against me, and there can be but one end to 
the struggle." And so there could. The wheels were 
soon to stop. 

Probably one of the last, if not the last letter he 
wrote was to his friend, John Dodds, who had also 
been seriously sick: "Allow me to congratulate you 
on the result of your election. Not that you cared 
so much about it, but I wanted you to be elected 
whether you went or not. As for myself, I have but 
little hope of getting there. I am very sick, nearly 
every hour. I realize that I am going down a little 



A Voice from Beulah Land 



401 



every day; but the dear Master will do everything 
right, so I am trying to leave it all with him, and to 
be patient. I cannot write more to-day. God bless 
yon all." 

On Sabbath afternoon, February 3, 1901, he was 
taken worse. He said to his pastor, Rev. J. G. Huber, 
who soon came in, "I think I am dying." Some 
passages of scripture were repeated to him, which 
he greatly enjoyed. He gave an affectionate fare- 
well to his wife, and children and grandchildren who 
were present. When asked if he had any message 
to leave to the Church, he answered: "I have not 
a doubt as to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
I believed what I preached. I preached what I be- 
lieved. I die in the faith of the gospel I preached. 
Jesus Christ is all and in all. Tell the Church never 
to depart from the doctrine held by the fathers, that 
a vital union with J esus Christ is essential to Chris- 
tian life." To a friend who entered the room he 
said : "I don't think it is wrong that I should feel 
tender and sorrowful on account of my family ! I do 
not know what the Master has for me. He is leading 
me in strange ways. I am following where he leads. 
I love to follow him, even though he leads me through 
the dark valley. I love to follow him always and 
forever. I shall soon see the King in his beauty. I 
feel perfectly safe." 

His strength gradually went down, and from this 
time on he had but few moments of consciousness. 
The end came Wednesday morning, February 6, at 
3 : 20 o'clock. The funeral occurred from the Oak 

26 



402 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Street Church, of which he was a member, Friday 
afternoon, February 8. It was probably one of the 
largest and most noted ever held in the history of the 
denomination. The announcement of his death 
brought together an immense gathering of sorrowing 
friends from this city and other places, ,far and near, 
to pay the last tribute of respect to the memory of 
this great spiritual leader of our Church. The church 
was crowded with people and friends, anxious to pay 
the last tribute of respect to this honored saint of God. 
Invocation was offered by Dr. G. M. Mathews ; Scrip- 
ture read by Dr. I. L. Kephart ; prayer by Dr. D, W. 
Sprinkle, of Bishop Weaver's own conference; brief 
addresses by Dr. W. E. Funk, Bishops Kephart, Hott r 
and Mills , by Dr. McKee and the pastor, Bev. J. G. 
Huber. The musical selections were such as had been 
sung during his illness and around his death-bed. The 
services lasted about two hours, and the people were 
eager to catch every word uttered. The procession 
to Woodland Cemetery was unusually larga Many 
stood with uncovered heads as the loved form of the 
bishop was lowered into the grave, and as Bishop Kep- 
hart read the burial formula of the Church. The 
sainted bishop now rests a few feet from his distin- 
guished associate and friend, Bishop Edwards, where 
they shall sleep in peace until the resurrection morn- 
ing. 



CHAPTEE XXIII. 



How Men Will Think of Him. 

As we come, in this last chapter, to gather up in 
systematic order some of the more salient points in 
the life and character of Bishop Weaver, we have no 
desire to indulge in any fulsome eulogy, but to ex- 
press, in plain language, some of the traits which 
revealed him to men, and made them love him, and 
by which we think the Church of the future will esti- 
mate him. He needs no such empty eulogy, and 
would be the last man to seek it. He had his weak- 
nesses as well as his strong points, and none knew 
them better than himself. What shall we think of 
him as a man ? 

AS A MAN. 

1. In his field, he was essentially a great man- 
perhaps the greatest the Church has produced in the 
last half -century. He was not a product of the 
schools, but of the talents which God gave him, and 
which were developed under the pressure of poverty 
and a sense of his obligations to God. What he was 
so far as external surroundings were concerned, the 
Church made him, and he, in return, in good part, 
made the Church. His history is a history, really, 
of the progress of the Church. When he came into 
it, a mere boy, it had a membership, widely scattered. 

403 



404 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

of some twenty thousand communicants. Its colleges, 
its Publishing House, its missionary boards, its Sun- 
day-school association, all its departments for more 
efficient church work have come into being since his 
connection with it. Some of them he has originated, 
and to all he has been a fast friend, aiding them by 
the very best thought of his busy brain. Well may 
the faculty of Union Biblical Seminary say, "He has 
been one of its warmest and strongest friends ; theo- 
logical education in our Church has been bereft of 
one of its earliest advocates and promoters." For 
years he has been the efficient president of the Board 
of Missions, never missing a session, except the last, 
when too feeble to go. How his voice has cheered the 
toilers in the educational field ; how his cheery letters 
have given new inspiration to the men who furnished 
a Church literature! But why particularize ? Not a 
department of Church work to-day which has not felt 
the inspiration of his spirit and the contagion of his 
example. 

2. He was a man of warm and sympathetic heart. 
Years ago, Bishop Edwards found some religious dis- 
turbances in the bounds of the Walla Walla, now the 
Columbia River Conference. Bishop Weaver was the 
next bishop to visit them. While there, he received 
word that the Missionary Board had dissolved the 
conference and converted it into a missionary district, 
which virtually gave the bishop plenary powers in 
the disposing of it. Says one who was present, "The 
so-called fanatics took quite a. dislike to him ; but his 
kind and noble bearing, his most loving humility, 



How Mm Will Think of Him 



405 



together with his indescribably good sermons and pub- 
lic speeches, perfectly captured us ; so, though out of 
about twenty preachers, he employed only two-, and 
sent the rest all home, he still carried the love and 
esteem of every one of us back East with him." 

A friend gave this little picture of him : Standing 
in a depot with a friend, in a western State, one day, 
he picked up a five-dollar bill which some one had 
lost. He sought for an owner, but could find none. 
Bishop Weaver said he wished the owner had it, for 
that very loss might defeat his journey. As the de- 
parting train backed in, the conductor came back mak- 
ing inquiry, saying that a poor woman had lost her 
money, and he came back to see if he could find it. 
After passing it over, the bishop said : "That 's my 
idea of business life. People should do all that is 
reasonable to help each other through this crooked 
world." He thanked the conductor for the trouble 
he had taken, for the woman could not have made her 
trip without it. He was not a man of giant intellect, 
but he was a man of great depth of feeling. This 
was seen in his daily life, in his public preaching, and 
in his labors as a bishop in the Church. He came 
from the ranks of the common people, whom he loved. 
He was not an aristocrat, but a born democrat. He 
came in close touch with his fellow-men. If he said 
anything severe, it was done with such a pleasant 
smile that it took away much of its power to hurt. 
During the Church troubles, when men were saying 
hard things of him, calling him traitor and deceiver, 
and characterizing him by other slanderous epithets, 



406 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

he said nothing unkind in return. The letters he re- 
ceived charging him with unkind things, of which he 
was entirely innocent, he burned, that no one but 
himself might know who wrote them. His kindliness 
of manner opened the way for him into other human 
hearts. Wherever he went men admired him for his 
ability and respected him for his character, and very 
many of them loved him because he loved them and 
manifested a kindly disposition toward all. He 
sought daily to manifest the Saviour's spirit, and how 
could he best do this except by loving all men % 

3. He was careful of both his character and repu- 
tation. He was not a reckless man, who would take 
unnecessary risks. He knew that as a man of God he 
must take heed to his ways, and not allow his good to 
be evil spoken of. He never stood so near the divid- 
ing line between what was proper and what was not, 
that men were not sure where to find him. What 
he practiced himself he always commended to others, 
as opportunity presented itself. How often have we 
listened to his earnest words to young ministers, ad- 
monishing them that on the street, in the social circle, 
everywhere, their conduct should be such as becomes 
those who are God's representatives. 

4. He could skillfully adapt himself to all per- 
sons, as well as all occasions. There was a proper 
dignity which he observed, but an utter absence of 
pomposity or any attempt at self-glorification. True 
greatness in the man did not consist in the accessories 
of wealth, family, or position, but in moral grandeur. 
Thus he estimated manhood at what it was worth. 



How Mm Will Think of Him 407 



Jle saw generous manhood in the son of toil, who was 
dark with dust from the furnace, provided he sought 
to faithfully follow his Master, as well as in the man 
whose position seemed to win for him the notice of 
his fellows. There is no need for any false abase- 
ment, such as Uriah Heep manifested, nor for any 
glorification of those whom fortune has specially fa- 
vored. Having a true and proper idea of the value 
of men, he knew how to treat each one as was becom- 
ing. He could fittingly understand what became the 
occasion, and how to meet it. So exceedingly happy 
was he in such adaptation that in General Confer- 
ences he was selected to make reply to greetings 
brought by others, and there are thousands who can 
testify as to how successfully it was done. He seemed 
never to be taken by surprise, but, out of his full 
treasury, always had something witty, something 
touching, something that seemed especially designed 
:f or that moment. 

5. He had the courage of his convictions. 
man is what he should be unless he does have. A 
man has no need for mental powers unless he does 
his own thinking. If he is a man, he must stand 
for something. In spite of his limited training, 
bishop Weaver was a careful, logical thinker. He 
looked the questions through and through, gathering 
information from all sources. Having carefully and 
honestly thought out a conclusion, that was his con- 
clusion. It might not be the right one, but it was 
the best he had. He was willing and anxious to teach 
it to others. If opposed, he was ready to defend it. 



408 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



If shown its error, he would give it up, but no ridi- 
cule could drive him from his position. 

In his earlier years, he had thought out and pub- 
lished a vigorous protest against freemasonry. He 
never changed his mind as to its nature ; but there 
came a time when he concluded that the Church was 
not dealing properly with it. By its action it was 
crippling itself, but not hurting masonry. Through 
a wide experience and close observation, he thought 
out a plan of change. It was no easy thing for a 
man high in official position to take such a step when 
the majority of those in authority might take off 
his official head. When he consulted a friend as to 
the wisdom of the step he proposed, the friend said, 
"It is just the thing that should be said, but don't 
you say it ; it will kill you." He did not consider 
his own relation to the matter at all, but having satis- 
fied himself it was the proper word to be said, he 
spoke it, and took the consequences. When the 
Church trials came on, he was taunted again and 
again by having his early pamphlet thrust in his 
face, but he took back not a word as to the evil he 
had opposed. He had changed his mind as to the 
method of dealing with it by the Church, and he had 
the courage to say so. 

A man once said to Mr. Beecher, "I infer you be- 
lieve so and so." Mr. Beecher quickly replied: 
"There is no need of making any inference about it. 
I make it so plain, no man can make any mistake as 
to what I think." Bishop Weaver was, as we have 
shown, a very regular and frequent contributor to 



How Men Will Think of Rim 409 



the press, on almost every variety of subject He 
never sought to conceal anything, but opened his heart 
to the Church he loved and over which he presided. 
We knew exactly what he thought on almost every 
subject He believed, and therefore he spoke, and 
the Church has been blessed by his utterances. He 
sought to lead it, not to domineer over it ; and because 
it trusted his convictions, his warmth of heart, his 
honesty of purpose, it followed him. 

6. He was a hopeful man, full of a healthy op- 
timism. In an article for the Church paper, in 1887, 
he says: "I cannot see an inch before me, but I 
can see a little of the past and present, and it seems 
to me that the brightest day this world has ever seen 
since the fall of man is already beginning to dawn. 
Open your eyes, open them wide. Africa is coming 
to God. India and Greenland are coming. Torches 
are blazing in China, in Japan, in Turkey, and in 
the islands of the sea. There are more Bibles on 
earth to-day than at any time in the past. Something 
is coming ; just what and how I do not know. Kail- 
roads, steamships, the telegraph, telephones, and a 
thousand other agencies and instrumentalities are 
made to serve the vast interests of the Church of 
Christ. Pulpits are thundering all along the line. 
Evangelists are hurrying here and there; some 
preaching, some singing, some doing one thing, and 
some another. Men right out of the gutter are raised 
up by the process of grace, and are going about 
preaching Jesus. Women, as if suddenly inspired, 
are hurrying about, talking, preaching, and singing 



410 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



salvation by faith in Jesus. Last, but maybe not 
the least, the Salvation Army, with fife and drum, 
comes marching along our streets, singing as they 
go, 'We will walk in the light/ Let them alone, so 
they win souls to Christ. Fall in line. Something 
is coming. God is in his church to-day. If you 
cannot have everything just as you want it, take hold 
of the best, and press forward. " 

Thus, his nature was cheery and hopeful. During 
the dark days of his college agency, however discour- 
aging things may have seemed to him, the Church 
always got from him the hopeful side. Matters might 
look a little blue, but we were fully able to go up 
and possess the land. Dark days never came to him, 
but that he could see how they could be darker. 
When clouds began to thicken in our Church troubles, 
he always kept insisting that if we would obey God, 
and do his will, he would find out for us a way, and 
a way was found. Such a disposition was of immense 
advantage to him in his work of later years, when 
men more and more looked to him for guidance and 
help. 

1. He had an innocent vein of humor. He in- 
herited this from his father, but it was stronger in 
him than in his father. It made him a very com- 
panionable man. Page after page could be filled with 
anecdotes and incidents illustrating this. There was 
nothing unkind or unbecoming in his use of it, but 
it availed to shed brightness on the trials of life, and 
helped him often thereby to administer a gentle re- 
proof without using severity. 



How Mm Will Think of Him 411 



Some years ago, he held a session of Scioto Con- 
ference, near Circleville. One of the preachers from 
the hill country, in the south, was standing almost in 
front of the bishop, making his report, which he read 
with not a little self-consciousness. When he came 
to the conference collections, he reported eighteen 
cents collected. Bishop Weaver tapped on the table 
with his pencil, so as to get his attention, and in- 
quired, apparently very seriously, "Brother, did you 
get all that in cash, or was part of it in trade ?" We 
can imagine the sensations that pervaded the audi- 
ence when the preacher answered, in all seriousness, 
"Bishop, I have it all in solid cash." "Good for you, 
good for you !" was the bishop's reply. 

In 1879, at a session of the Central Illinois Con- 
ference, a young preacher was referred to a com- 
mittee for the manner in which he had been teach- 
ing the doctrine of the higher life, and the committee 
recommended that the chair admonish him. Bishop 
Weaver straightened himself up, and, after seriously 
running his eye over the members of the committee, 
the young man, and the audience, said, very seri- 
ously, "My dear brethren, I see only one way out of 
this trouble, and that is for this young man to hold 
on to his zeal until his knowledge catches up." 

He presided over the White Eiver Conference in 
1887. The feeling between the two wings of the 
Church was quite strong. Some of the more radical 
members manifested not a little discourtesy to the 
bishop, but he bore it with a kindly spirit, and, by 
his good humor and pleasant manner of meeting 



412 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

them, showed that he was master of the situation. 
An effort was made to get a resolution through the 
conference condemning the Telescope for selling out 
to the lodge, and approving the Conservator. In his 
mirthful way, the bishop told the conference he was 
never exactly satisfied with the Telescope; there was 
always something in it that did not suit him, and 
he had about made up his mind it never would be the 
paper it should be, until he became the editor him- 
self. 

AS A PREACHER. 

He was a great preacher. Many of his hearers 
have rated him next to Bishop Simpson ; not in schol- 
arship, for he made no pretension to this, but in his 
understanding of his theme and his presentation of 
it with such warmth of feeling, such genuine sim- 
plicity, such entire confidence in its truthfulness, that 
men listened with admiration, and came again to hear 
him. 

1. He was thoroughly biblical and always evan- 
gelical. He did not quote Scripture references so 
extensively as did Bishop Glossbrenner, many of 
whose sermons were simply stories of Bible utter- 
ances. In his day men believed in a genuine repent- 
ance, and a conversion which did not carry with it 
as its antecedent a goodly amount of "godly sorrow" 
was looked upon with some uncertainty. To hold up 
one's hand, and thus indicate that one wanted to live 
a new life, was all good, but he must follow it up 
and show its genuineness by falling upon his knees 
and pouring out his soul before God. In those days, 



How Men Will Think of Him 



413 



the kingdom of heaven suffered violence, a and the 
violent took it by force/' 

So, in all his pulpit ministrations he never feared 
to utter "hell to ears polite." He had but one mes- 
sage, which he believed with all his heart, and which 
he taught to others with all the skill God gave him: 
Men have fallen from their original estate and are 
prone to wrong-doing; nothing can bring them back 
again and fit them for the here and the hereafter but 
the implantation by the Holy Spirit of a new life. 
This can be done only when a man repents and for- 
sakes his sin and accepts Christ as his Saviour and 
guide. The culture of the schools is a good thing, 
and all should have it, but it will not purify our 
evil natures and make us children of God, as the con- 
dition of the cultured nations of the past only too 
plainly teaches. The forms and graces of modern civ- 
ilization carry with them many desirable things, but 
they are only a thin veneering to cover over a corrupt 
human nature which divine help alone can purify. 
He spoke the truth kindly and in love, but never 
sought to tone down its teachings. From first to last 
the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ and faith 
in him, were absolutely essential to human salvation. 
Nothing had ever been found in the universe of God 
to take their place. If he should preach any other 
gospel he would be "anathema maranatha." 

2. He was a constant and diligent student. He 
had no sympathy with indolent men who had no love 
for study, but who, misinterpreting the divine teach- 
ing, opened their mouths and waited for the 



414 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Lord to fill them; strange to say, he seldom, if 
ever, did fill them. Bishop Weaver had tried the 
same process, but his mouth was empty until he 
went to work, with God's help, to answer his own 
prayers. His library was not large, and yet it is 
surprising, after all, how many books he read. His 
effort was not so much to find out what other men 
said about the Scriptures, as what they actually 
taught. When not at work in the field, he was a 
student at home. He studied men as well as books. 
His experience as a college agent so taught him, ac- 
cording to his own statements, that he about knew 
what was in a man as soon as he saw him. The mul- 
tiplicity of his communications to the Church paper 
show him as no idler. He studied men, he studied 
books, he studied the Bible, he studied his own re- 
ligious experiences and the experiences of others, 
and from all of these he gathered a wealth of knowl- 
edge that made him a power, under God, in reaching 
others. 

3. He presented truth in a plain English dress, 
using the simplest words, placing himself on a level 
with the most humble and lowly of his hearers. He 
was an adept in the use of the simple words of his 
mother tongue. An eloquent writer forcibly says: 
"Words are instruments of music ; an ignorant man 
uses them for jargon; but when a master touches 
them, they have unexpected life and soul. Some 
words sound out like drums ; some breathe memories 
as sweet as flutes ; some call like a clarionet ; some 
shout a charge like trumpets : some are as sweet as 



How Men Will Think of Him 



415 



children's talk; others rich as a mother's answering 
back. The words which have universal power are 
those that have been keyed and chorded in the great 
orchestral chambers of the human heart. Some 
words touch as many notes at a stroke as when an 
organist strikes ten fingers upon a keyboard. There 
are single words which contain life-histories, and to 
hear them spoken is like the ringing of chimes. He 
who knows how to touch and handle skillfully the 
home-words of his mother tongue, need ask nothing 
of style." 

Because of his childlike simplicity and his child 
heart the little children were his interested listeners. 
In his "Church History" (page 336), Dr. Berger 
gives the following incident as illustrative: He 
preached, one Sabbath, in a Presbyterian Church in 
Dayton. "An officer in the church related that one 
Sunday morning, at the breakfast-table, his little 
daughter, a child of eight years, had asked him who 
was going to preach that day. On being told Bishop 
Weaver would preach, she exclaimed, gleefully, 'Oh, 
then I am going to stay for church. I like to hear 
him preach. I can understand everything he says.' 
The sermon was somewhat lengthy that day, and 
when the gentleman had returned home he asked 
his daughter whether she did not get tired with the 
bishop's long sermon. She replied, 'Oh, no, papa, 
the sermon was not at all long.' The bishop, on that 
day was in one of his best moods, and the length of 
the sermon was precisely one hour and thirteen min- 
utes. It would be difficult, perhaps, to give higher 



416 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



praise to a sermon than such, a tribute by a little 
child." 

4. He was a man of retentive and ready memory. 
This grew out of his close observation. What comes 
like a flash and for a moment, usually goes the same 
way. That which we have examined and analyzed 
until it becomes a part of us usually remains with 
us. What he once knew he kept ready for use, for 
he expected some time to draw upon it. 

He trusted this to so great an extent that in his 
later years it led him into peculiar positions. He 
does not seem to have kept a record as to when and 
where he preached certain sermons, so trusted his 
memory alone. He would preach the same sermon 
over and over to the same conferences; sometimes 
preach the same sermon to two successive sessions 
of the same annual conference. Once, at Wester- 
ville, he preached on the parable of the ten virgins ; 
he was absent for some weeks, and returned and 
preached the same sermon again. This occurred from 
burdening an active memory with things that did not 
belong to it. 

5. He was a ready extempore speaker. His train- 
ing had all been in this direction. He began when 
a boy, and cultivated the habit. He began his work 
when his listeners would not endure written sermons. 
They would have done little good, for his hearers 
were not adepts in thinking. What he said must be 
said simply, and plainly, if not very systematically, 
and must be enforced by the contact of eye with eye, 
and by the impulses of a warm heart. The loud 



How Men Will Think of Him 417 



u amen" would tell him whether the truth had taken 
hold of the intellect and heart of the hearers. We 
have not been able to find any written sermons among 
his papers ; there are two or three lectures, for these 
were written to be read, but no sermons. We are 
not sure that he wrote any. He always advised young 
men against reading in the pulpit. Such constant 
practice gave him courage to think on his feet, and 
his fund of knowledge, elaborated much by his own 
process of thinking, gave him matter to speak. His 
sermons show that he was not without a plan, but 
that plan was held in mind, and not committed to 
paper. A clergyman once said to the writer that he 
wrote and then memorized his sermon so well that if 
a new subject came to him from the outside he could 
interject it without losing his beaten track. Bishop 
Weaver had his material at such control that, with- 
out writing, he could hold it in place as well as if 
written, and yet add to it whatever might be sug- 
gested when the mind was at fever heat, or what was 
gathered from the surrounding circumstances. 

6. He was very skillful in the use of illustrations. 
He remembered those he read. He had so trained 
himself that he found new ones in the world of na- 
ture about him, in the men he* met, in the incidents 
of daily life. When he began to preach he found 
it the easier way to use illustrations. Later years 
showed it was the more effective way. The Scottish 
preacher, Dr. Guthrie, who was himself a skillful 
user of them, says, in substance, if you want to carry 
a thought home to the heart of the hearer, you must 

27 



418 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



wing it with an illustration. It seems to make the 
truth clearer, as well as more impressive. 

7. His nature was hopeful and cheery. He 
wrote, at one time: "While God never intended us 
to be hilarious, he did intend we should be joyful, if 
not all the time, at least many times. But some men 
appear to live so much on the shady side they hardly 
seem to know there is a bright side. It is well enough 
to look at a hearse once in a while, but it is not best 
to be all the time in a funeral procession. " 

He then proceeds to illustrate with the following 
incident: "At a social meeting, where Christians 
were wont to exchange views, a brother arose and 
gave a dark picture of his life. He had trials, temp- 
tations, sorrows, afflictions, and a hard time gener- 
ally. When he sat down, another brother arose and 
said : 'I know what is the matter with that brother. 
He lives down on Complaining Avenue. I lived there 
myself for many years. The sun never shone there, 
and I never heard the birds sing. Then, too, I had 
chills and fever, and something like the gout, all the- 
time. I took blue mass and quinine, and all such 
stuff, but got worse and worse. So I concluded to- 
move up to Thanksgiving Street, and now I have been 
living up there for some time. The chills, fever^ 
and even the gout are all gone. My advice is to- 
move up to our street. There are plenty of houses 
to let, and rent is low and cheap. On Complaining 
Avenue houses are scarce, and rent is high.' " 

8. He had an impressive, not to say a dramatic 
style of delivery. He had a profound conviction of 



How Men Will Think of Him 



419 



the truth of God's Word, having tested it in his own 
experience, and so presented it as a real thing. In 
1886, he preached before the ministers of Western 
Reserve and Muskingum annual conferences, at a 
joint session held in Massillon. The opera house had 
been secured, and some eighteen hundred were pres- 
ent His text was, "His name shall be called Won- 
derful." One who heard it says: "His description 
of the various scenes in the life and death of Christ 
were so powerful and vivid that he seemed to have 
perfect control of the minds and feelings of all that 
vast multitude. At times they were so moved you 
could not see a dry eye in the house. In picturing 
some act of Christ, such as the casting of the devils 
out of the man in the tomb, he made it seem so real 
that some of the people clapped their hands. When 
describing the resurrection, many of the people un- 
consciously arose from their seats and peered toward 
a point in front of the speaker, as though expecting 
to see the divine Man arise. Many said that such 
an effective religious service had never been witnessed 
in the city of Massillon before." 

In the winter of 1858 or 1859, a revival was in 
progress in the old college chapel in Westerville, Ohio. 
Bishop Weaver, who then was college agent, and re- 
siding in Westerville, preached one evening. Said 
one who was present : "During the sermon, the con- 
gregation became so absorbed with interest that many 
leaned forward in their seats, with mouths partly 
opened, to catch every word, and with eyes fixed on 
the speaker to note every gesture. I have heard thou- 



420 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



sands of sermons, but never before, nor since, have 
I seen a whole congregation so completely absorbed 
as on this occasion. At its conclusion, when seekers 
were invited, sixty pressed their way to the front, 
and many were saved that night." 

He attended a holiness camp-meeting at Warsaw, 
Indiana, and, one day, was asked to preach to an 
audience of from three to four hundred people. Says 
an eye-witness: "It was one of his ablest efforts. 
Saints rejoiced and gave God the glory. Dr. Foot, 
of New York, a great man of God, was so overcome 
with emotion that he could not speak for a time. 
Finally he exclaimed, 'Blessed man! I would love 
to put my arms about him.' Bishop Weaver, over- 
hearing this, arose and said, 'Doctor, I will help you/ 
and there these two men stood embracing each other, 
weeping like children." Said Dr. Foot, later, "I 
have met but few divines in America so simple, yet 
so profound." 

In 1872, he preached before the Auglaize Confer- 
ence, at a session held in Jay City, Indiana. He was 
hardly able to sit up and conduct the affairs of the 
conference, yet, at the urgent request of the mem- 
bers, he consented to try to preach. The party report- 
ing it says: "I never heard him preach such a ser- 
mon before. I question if ever a man secured to 
any greater extent the attention of his audience than 
did he at this time. The sermon was one full of in- 
struction, of tenderness, of love, of exhortation, of 
warning. Excepting his bodily health, he was in his 
best mood as a preacher. This conference never 



Mow Men Will Think of Him 



421 



heard a sermon which made a more lasting impression 
than did this ona" 

At a session of one of his conferences, he preached 
on ''Christ's Reception into Glory." Some of the 
people who were present said, when speaking of the 
sermon, that while he was describing the ascension 
of Jesus they could almost see into the heavenly 
world. 

AS A BISHOP. 

He was elected a bishop of the Church in 1865, 
when forty-one years of age, and continued to hold 
this position, as an active or emeritus bishop, until 
the day of his death, without a single break. Some 
reasons for such continuous approval on the part of 
the Church may be found in the following : 

1. He had a good knowledge of men. It has been 
alleged, on the part of some, that his committees were 
not always well made up; that he would place weak 
men where strong men should be; that he was not 
strict in receiving preachers ; did not carefully scruti- 
nize their qualifications; was apt to conclude that 
any man was fit to be licensed who had been recom- 
mended by a quarterly conference. 

There may have been some foundation for such a 
charge in his later years, when disease was preying 
upon him, as it did, more or less, during the last 
dozen years of his life, but if it were true, it was the 
result of indifference, rather than inability. He was 
a man of good observing powers ; a diligent, faithful 
student. His business for years made it necessary 
to know men. As an agent, he must study them to 



422 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

make a success, and study them he did. The skill 
which he manifested during the Church trials shows 
that he properly estimated the men with whom he 
came in contact. The very fact that he knew what 
was in men was one of the things that made him a 
successful preacher. 

The bishop and the writer were, at one time, both 
trustees of Union Biblical Seminary. It was in its 
earlier history, when new plans had to be adopted 
and new measures set on foot. Some new plan had 
been proposed, and there had been a discussion on 
both sides. One brother, prominent in Church coun- 
cils, had opposed the suggested measure, showing the 
difficulties to be encountered in carrying forward the 
proposed plan. Before the matter was finally settled, 
the board adjourned for the day. As the members 
were passing out, Brother Weaver took the arm of 
the writer, and, with the last speech still in his mind, 
said, in subdued tones, "Did you ever see as skillful 
a man as Brother W. to show how things cannot be 
done V 9 That one statement revealed the conservative 
nature of the man. 

2. He had a peace-loving nature. He was not a 
quarrelsome man. He was an excellent hand to ad- 
just difficulties or misunderstandings. His high 
Christian character and his pleasant vein of humor 
opened for him the way to human hearts. He never 
enjoyed troubles among the laity or the preachers, 
and did his best to allay them. He found it necessary 
to reprove, but he did it in such a way as not to 
arouse bitter or angry feelings. 



How Men Will Think of Him 423 



While attending Walla Walla Conference, at one 
time, there was not a little fault-finding with each 
other on the part of some of the ministers. The 
bishop bore it as long as he could, and then, leaving 
the chair, he pulled his pantaloons down over his 
shoes, straightened himself up to his full height, and 
said, "Brethren, I don't think it is just right to lay 
a man on the conference table and then carve him to 
pieces." He followed this with some well-chosen 
suggestions, to which all agreed save one man, who 
wanted to talk further ; but he suddenly ceased when 
the bishop said, very kindly, "Brother, please sit 
down." Some one present remarked, "If I had to be 
beheaded, of all men on earth I should want the 
bishop to be the executioner, for it would be as near 
painless as possible." 

In helping to adjust some of the troubles in this 
conference, he told the brethren that those who were 
strong should bear the infirmities of the weak. They 
must not "beat the sheep," even if they had gone 
astray. A brother who was severely criticising those 
who were too demonstrative, said, by way of enforc- 
ing his opinion, "My father told me an empty wagon 
always made more noise than one loaded." The 
bishop interrupted by saying, "Brother John, that 
depends on what the wagon is loaded with." Brother 
John sat down, and the splendid generalship of the 
bishop soon brought about a fair degree of harmony 
among the brethren. 

Rev. George Muth, a member of White Eiver Con- 
ference, was always ready to deal a blow at secret 



424 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

societies, whether the time was opportune or not. 
While an itinerant was on the floor answering the 
questions of the bishop, Muth could hardly wait to 
make his accustomed speech. Bishop Weaver pre- 
sided over this conference in 1877, and kindly told 
Brother Muth he must wait until the resolutions came 
up, and then he could talk. At the appointed time, 
the bishop said, "Now, Father Muth, you can make 
your speech." Muth was nettled that he had been de- 
layed so long, and quickly answered, "I '11 not speak 
to please you." "Well," remarked the bishop, very 
tenderly, "if that is the case, we will have to get along 
without it." 

During the year 1888, after the election had been 
held, he felt moved to write the following : "Within 
a few days I have received a number of bills of elec- 
tion for delegates. Instead of sending them to the 
tellers in their own conferences, they send them to 
me. What are the preachers about on their fields of 
labor? Why do they not announce to the congrega- 
tion who these tellers are ? It is just too bad that min- 
isters in charge of fields of labor do not instruct their 
members along these lines. There are some men 
who have not read half there is in our Discipline. 
Should such men be sent to take charge of fields of 
labor ? They are simply fit to be sent home, pro- 
vided some one could be sent to accompany them to 
show them the way. Am I wrong in thus blaming 
these ministers ? Somebody is to be blamed, and who 
is it? Where ministers are wide-awake, these blun- 
ders do not occur. Why mention this? Some of 



How Men Will Think of Him 



425 



our ministers and members need to be waked up. 
Almost half our ministers come to conference with 
imperfect reports. They will dream around on their 
circuits, stations, or missions a whole year, and then 
come to conference, and for their lives they could not 
tell how many members they left on their charge. 
Why write this up ? Most of these drony preachers 
do not read the Telescope. Maybe they do not take 
it." 

3. He was a progressive man. The man for the 
times must not only hold fast to the truth already re- 
ceived, but must keep his mind generously open to 
all new truth. He must stand on solid ground, but 
whenever he finds sure footing ahead of him he must 
take a step in advance. Bishop Weaver's mind was 
duly conservative, but was progressive. He was not 
so wedded to old forms and old ceremonies that he 
could not exchange them for new ones that were bet- 
ter. He had no inordinate reverence for the past. 
He lived in the present, with his face to the future. 
The fathers were no more pious, or honest, or intel- 
ligent than were their children. He believed we 
should do as they did, adapt ourselves to our sur- 
roundings, and study God's providences as revealed 
to us to-day. 

As a specimen of his forecast, we quote the follow- 
ing, written in the fall of 1888: "Shall women 
preach ? must be settled in the churches in the near 
future. Changes in church polity are crowding one 
upon the other in nearly all the evangelical churches. 
That denomination which determines to hold to its 



126 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



polity of a hundred years ago will be left behind in 
the great struggle to win this world to Christ. New 
light on old truths is being developed. Problems that 
were seen in the distance fifty years ago are now be- 
ing solved. New agencies and new instrumentalities 
not thought of a while ago, are being used to very 
great advantage in diffusing light and knowledge. 
Women are coming to the front, and no power on 
earth can prevent it. In the temperance reform they 
are head and shoulders above the men. In the mis- 
sionary field they are side by side with the men. In 
the courage to face danger, and in the faith and love 
to make sacrifices for Christ, they are not a whit 
behind their brothers. Shall they be licensed to 
preach ? If not, why not ? Are they lacking in piety, 
in zeal, or in intelligence ? Do the Scriptures for- 
bid it? If so, where? They are knocking at the 
doors of our conferences, shall we answer, 'Stay out/ 
or, 'Come in' ? I am not a prophet, but it is my de- 
liberate opinion that the General Conference which 
shall open the way to admit women into the minis- 
try will go down to history loved and honored by 
the Church." This was done by the Conference 
which met the following year — 1889. 

4. He had a judicial mind and was a skillful par- 
liamentarian. He also had a kind heart, which made 
him want to deal fairly with all. During the Gen- 
eral Conference at Westfield, Illinois, 1877, a ques- 
tion was before the Conference, and, after some de- 
bate, it was moved to amend. A little further on, 
some one offered an amendment to the amendment, 



How Men Will Think of Him 



427 



and, later still, another a substitute for the whole 
proposition. A brother arose who was not well versed 
in parliamentary law; he was a new man, and was 
now quite bewildered as to the situation. Bishop 
Weaver was presiding at that time. The man was 
small of stature, had sore eyes, and withal was quite 
diffident. He said, in a low tone, "Mr. Cheerman !" 
Bishop Weaver was counseling with the other bishops 
about some matter, and did not hear him. He spoke 
a little louder, "Mr. Cheerman!" The third time 
he spoke a little louder still, "Mr. Cheerman !" 
Bishop Weaver, having completed his talk, turned to 
the member and said, "What is it, Brother J. ?" 
Brother J. answered, "I just riz up to know whether 
I was right in my mind." This answer brought down 
the house with a sort of impromptu explosion. Not 
so with the chairman, however. There was not the 
semblance of a smile on his face, and if the brother 
had been the most prominent member of the Confer- 
ence, the bishop could not have treated him more 
courteously. Rapping for order, he said, in a most 
deferential and brotherly tone, "The question, 
Brother J., is" — and then proceeded to state the 
whole question in detail, so he could understand it. 
An official of the English Parliament could not have 
done a more courteous and brotherly act than did 
the bishop on this occasion. As a presiding officer, 
it was his business to protect the weakest member 
of the body. 

At a meeting of the Board of Missions, at West- 
field, a question came up concerning some mission 



428 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



work, and Bishop Weaver being in the chair, gave 
a certain decision. D. K. Elickinger, the Secretary 
of the Mission Board, did not want it that way, and 
so finally concluded to appeal from the chair. Bishop 
Weaver called Bishop Edwards to take his place, 
while he went on the floor to defend his action. After 
some discussion, the vote was taken as to whether 
the chair should be sustained, and it was a tie vote. 
Edwards was perplexed, but had to make a decision, 
so finally said, although he disliked to do so, "But if 
it was with my own mother, I must decide against 
the chair/' which he did. 

A year went by, and another meeting occurred at 
Baltimore. Bishop Edwards was in the chair, and 
Bishop Weaver was present, but too sick to take any 
active part in the proceedings. A similar question 
came up, and was decided precisely as Bishop Weaver 
had done, one year before. It was such a surprise to 
the bishop, after his previous experience, that, sick 
as he was, he managed to get the floor, and expressed 
his great pleasure in hearing Bishop Edwards decide 
as he did. 

Bishop Weaver helped to make some needful 
changes. It had been an old-time custom to have the 
preacher read his report, and then the bishop would 
himself copy it on his chart. This caused no little 
delay and a great waste of time, which might be given 
to more important business. When he was elected 
bishop, the plan of having a statistical secretary se- 
lected, who could copy all these on the chart, and thus 
save time and labor, was adopted. The other bishops, 



How Men Will Think of Him 429 



for a time, held on to the "good old way/' but finally 
indorsed his innovation. 

He had a little tilt with Bishop Glossbrenner on 
a point of order. It was the custom with some of 
the bishops, when a report was made, and amend- 
ments made thereto, to allow any one who wished 
to move to lay the amendment on the table, and if 
the vote was in the affirmative, it was done. When 
Bishop Weaver came to take the chair (at Lebanon), 
a case came up, and he decided this could not be done. 
If they laid the amendment on the table, it took the 
whole paper. Bishops Edwards and Glossbrenner 
finally accepted his interpretation. 

Bishop Glossbrenner had been accustomed to re- 
ceive men from other churches who had not been or- 
dained, without requiring them to receive ordination 
from us. Bishop Weaver felt that every minister, 
either before coming to us, or afterwards, should be 
ordained by the laying on of hands. At the West- 
field General Conference, he secured a change in our 
legislation, requiring that all henceforth who come 
to us without ordination shall be ordained. 

5. He possessed a genuine Christian character. 
He followed Paul's advice to Timothy: "Be thou 
an ens ample to them that believe, in word, in manner 
of life, in love, in faith, in purity. . . . Take 
heed to thyself, and to thy teaching. Continue in 
these things; for in doing this thou shalt save both 
thyself and them that hear thee. . . . Fight the 
good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, 
whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the 



430 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

good confession in the sight of many witnesses. 

. . Keep the commandment, without spot, with- 
out reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. " He sought to know and to do the Master's 
will. He belonged not to himself, but to God. The 
gospel which he preached to others, he sought to live 
in his own life. The experiences which he com- 
mended to them were such as he had passed through. 
He would put no burdens on others which he was not 
himself willing to endure. There are thousands in 
the city where he lived, and who witnessed his daily 
walk, who will attest their belief in his devoted life. 
Not but that he had weaknesses and imperfections, as 
have most men, but he held before him daily the di- 
vine ideal, and faithfully sought to measure up to it. 

6. He had faith in God, in the gospel, in men, and 
in himself. He 

"Never turned his back, but marched breast forward ; 
Never doubted clouds would break ; 

Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would 
triumph ; 

Held, we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, 
Sleep to wake." 

He had his trials, and disappointments, and per- 
plexities, as have others, but he never speaks as a dis- 
couraged man. During the troublous times that came 
to the Church, he never doubted that if we sought 
divine guidance, we would be led into light Speak- 
ing as to the result of the election on the adoption 
of the revised constitution, he says: "There never 
was a time in the history of any denomination when 



How Mm Will Think of Him 



431 



every member was fully satisfied with everything, 
and no one need expect it in time to come. The 
bright side of this question is that God is, and will 
be, in years to come. If everything is not just as 
we want it, we should thank God it is no worse, and 
push the battle on." 

He related this statement concerning Frederick 
Douglass, as illustrating how we should be hopeful 
and cheerful : 

Douglass was in a community where the colored 
people met to talk over their unfortunate condition. 
"He was sad, and so were many that were present 
But in the midst of their conversation, an old colored 
woman, who had more faith than the rest, commenced 
to clap her hands and sing with a will, composing 
the song as she went along, and, at the end of each 
verse, the words were, 'The tighter the hoop the sooner 
it will burst, glory hallelujah !' Mr. Douglass said 
he was ashamed of himself, and from that time on 
he labored in hope and with good cheer." 

Paul, in writing to the Corinthian brethren, gives 
a list of some of the most abominable vices of which 
men could be guilty, and says that these "shall not 
inherit the kingdom of God." He immediately adds 
that "such were some of you, but ye were washed, 
but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the 
name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of 
our God." Bishop Weaver believed the gospel was 
the power of God to save the world, and that no one 
strayed so far away by wicked works that this gospel 
could not regenerate his heart and make him a saint 



432 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



of God.. This may have been one of the reasons why 
he was so earnest and devoted a supporter of the mis- 
sionary work. He knew these godless people were 
sunken in ignorance and crime, but the gospel which 
could save filthy and lascivious Corinthians could 
save them. 

^Nor did he lose faith in man. Individual men de- 
ceived him. Men who entered the ministry with 
good prospects of success made shipwreck and went 
down in the swelling waters. He found designing 
men, who would use the Church as a stepping-stone 
to power and their own personal aggrandizement; 
but, after making all necessary allowances, the great 
body of the common people were worthy of his con- 
fidence. They aimed to deal justly with their fellows. 
Many of them responded to his earnest appeals for 
better living. Their homes and hearts were open to 
him. He used to say, smilingly, that he had but little 
of this world's goods, but there were hundreds of 
homes where he could enter; as many good beds 
where he could sleep ; as many tables where he could 
sit and eat bountifully, and all furnished at other 
people's expense. 

He trusted himself; not his scholarship, nor his 
own evil heart, for these were treacherous, but his own 
honesty of purpose and disposition to honor God. In 
early life, God had called him, and he had answered. 
He had committed his all to God, and so he had led 
him. He had promoted him from one position to 
another. He had blessed his ministry, and given 
him souls for his hire. True, he had led him in 



How Men Will Think of Him 433 

deep valleys and over rough mountains, but he had 
been protected. God had called him to a work in 
the Church, and it was his business to trust God. 
Thus trusting him and his gospel, and the children 
he had made, he pushed forward, becoming a co- 
worker with the Master in saving a lost world. 

7. In his administration, he was cool and thought- 
ful, never acting under excitement. This was one 
of his most admirable traits as a presiding officer. If 
matters became a little exciting in conference, he 
would say, "Well, just wait a little and let us look at 
it"; and he soon found a way. He had a tact and 
skill, which, with a little pleasantry, soon found a 
way out of nearly every difficulty. He had prepared 
himself for his work, had a rich and varied experi- 
ence to draw from, and could adapt himself to his 
surroundings. He was at times called on to make 
responses, almost without a moment's warning, and 
while happier in his method at some times than at 
others, he was never confused. Controlling himself, 
he could control his audiences. He did not become 
excited and lose his balance when matters came to 
fever heat, but a little pleasantry, a kind word, and 
all would run smoothly again. 

A little incident occurred at the General Confer- 
ence in Dayton, in 1873, which is typical of many 
others that could be given. The first week of the 
Conference was about to close. It was Saturday af- 
ternoon, and some of the members residing near the 
city had appointments for the Sabbath. One brother 
had arranged for a quarterly meeting on that day, and 



434 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

was anxious to get away promptly, so as to get to the 
train that would carry him to his place of destina- 
tion. Others were waiting like favors, and it wa& 
a little difficult to get prompt recognition. This 
brother had emphasized the fact two or three times 
that he could get back on Monday morning within an 
hour after the Conference resumed work. When he 
had been excused, and Bishop Weaver, who was in 
the chair, had announced it, he then said, in his droll 
way, "I guess the General Conference can get along 
without you for one hour, brother." The members 
of the conference smiled. 

During our troubles on the secrecy question, he 
was holding a session of the Michigan Conference, 
which was understood to be quite radical. It was 
voted by the conference, although the bishop sought 
to dissuade them from so doing, that he ask every 
member of the conference whether he was in sym* 
pathy with our Discipline, whether he had enforced 
it during the year, and would do so if employed dur- 
ing the* coming year. After listening to some flaming 
speeches, the bishop, in substance, said: "If you 
think this, is about what you want, I will comply 
with your request, and all will be required to an- 
swer. You will, however, not proceed far until you 
will find that it is not what you want." Intimations 
were made that probably the bishop was weakening 
on the vexed question, but he waited his turn. The 
elders made their reports, were asked the questions, 
and then one of the circuit preachers was called, and 
made a good report, which was complimented by botK 



Row Men Will Think of Rim 435 



bishop and elder. When these special questions were 
put to him, he frankly said that he was not in sym- 
pathy with the law, had not enforced it, and his 
elder had advised him not to do so. This brought 
the elder to his feet, who said this was a " special 
case." It soon developed that nearly every field had 
a "special case/' and it was not a little amusing to 
watch the bishop's face as he put these questions, and 
saw how men were falling into pits prepared for 
others. 

As was said of another, so we say of him : "We 
have hardly begun to understand how great a char- 
acter he was. No man is ever rated at his true value 
while he is still in this body. The glare of many 
commonplaces hides his virtues or exaggerates his 
foibles, but, seen through the tears of a fresh sorrow, 
his faults are veiled, and he becomes for the hour 
the paragon of excellencies. But as the days and 
the months pass away, prejudices and prepossession 
alike are weakened, the illusions of love and hate dis- 
appear, and the soul of the really great nature, clear- 
ing itself of all that was accidental, stands revealed 
more and more, defining itself in its true propor- 
tions — those which are destined to stand and endure 
as characteristic of the man. There is a revelation 
which comes to us when this mortal puts on immor- 
tality, without which we can scarcely see our friends 
as they are. There was a deep meaning in the words 
of Jesus to his friends, 'It is expedient for you that 
I go away.' " 



436 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



"He was a man cast in such generous mold 

Of body, brain, and conscience, heart and souJ, 
That if till now we never had been told 

Of an eternal life and perfect good 
Beyond the verge of this our mortal space, 

Straightway of such we should conceive and dare 
Believe it builded in God's boundless grace, 

After this man's great fashion, high and fair." 



SERMONS. 



Change Yokes. 

[Delivered at Oak Street United Brethren Church, February 12, 1888.] 

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for 
I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest 
unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my bur- 
den is light" (Matt. 11: 29, 30). 

For a number of evenings, I have spoken to the peo- 
ple here, but mostly to the unsaved, and to-day I 
want to talk more particularly to those who profess 
to be Christ's disciples, and, if possible, give some 
words of advice and instruction to those who recently 
have started out in this blessed cause. 

It is a very easy matter for any of us, the very 
best of us, to be mistaken. We often make mistakes. 
I suppose if the history of our lives were closely writ* 
ten, the book would contain more mistakes than any- 
thing else — mistakes in judgment and in acts, of one 
sort and another. We are not always guilty or crim- 
inal because we make mistakes, but it is on account 
of our limited knowledge. The apostle has put it 
in this way, "We see through a glass, darkly." We 
see in part, and only in part. We have glimpses ; we 
see part of a truth, but not all of it. We know, or 
may know, something of a good many things, but the 
very best of us do not know all about anything. 

437 



438 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

There is always something more to know about any- 
thing, no matter what it is, that we undertake to in- 
vestigate ; and it seems to me that our greatest danger 
lies along this line where truth and error come 
very close together — so close that often they really 
overlap each other, so that we cannot rind just the 
line between the truth and error; and right along 
there we are most apt to make mistakes. For in- 
stance : I do not need to stand here and try to prove 
to you that you are a free agent, that you have what 
we call the power of volition. You feel that; you 
know that; and because we feel it and know that 
we are free agents, that we have the right and the 
power to choose between this and that, we sometimes 
conclude that we are out-and-out freemen. There- 
fore, when we ask men and women to become Chris- 
tians, to accept of the Lord Jesus Christ, they object, 
because they think it will be the sacrifice of their 
freedom, the sacrifice of their volition. They seem 
to imagine that to become a Christian is to sell out 
their manhood or their womanhood. Now, it is true 
that we are in a sense freemen, that we have the 
power of volition, and yet not one of us can claim 
absolute freedom. Men that read this text read the 
words of Jesus, for these are the words of Jesus. 
He says, "Take my yoke upon you." They say: "I 
do not choose to accept of Christ's propositions; I 
do not choose to put my neck under a yoke; that 
would be sacrificing my freedom, and I do not pro- 
pose to bow myself and become thus subject to an- 
other." And they straighten themselves up and say, 



Change Yokes 



439 



''See here ! I am free, and to become a Christian is to 
put my neck under a yoke." Well, now, that is not 
what Christ is talking about at all. You miss the 
whole thought of the Lord J esus when you take that 
position. He is not talking to you as though you were 
absolutely free, for it is not so. He does not ask you 
whether you wear a yoke or not ; mind that. That is 
what you think, possibly, the Saviour means, but it 
is not so. Christ's proposition, if properly under- 
stood, is simply this, Change yokes. That puts it 
in a very different light. Christ's proposition to you 
is to change yokes. Why, the very language of Christ 
is, "Take my yoke upon you" ; and the reason why 
he advises you to change yokes is, "f or my yoke is easy 
and my burden is light" compared with that other 
yoke. The fact is, that every man and woman in 
this room to-day is under a yoke — every one ; and it 
is a choice between yokes ; that is all. It is Christ's 
yoke or the devil's yoke. <f Enow ye not, that to 
whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his serv- 
ants ye are," and you are this day the servants of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, or you are the servants of the 
wicked one. You have upon you this day Christ's 
yoke, or you have upon you this day and now the 
devil's yoke, and Christ wants you to change yokes. 
Put off that yoke, that galling, heavy yoke, and take 
Christ's yoke, which is easy compared with that other 
yoke which you have been wearing all these years. 

Christian men and women do not always talk just 
as they ought to talk ; they are not always as careful 
as they ought to be in giving expression to their feel- 



440 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

ings. Men talk about their Christian life, and, some- 
how or other, there are Christian men and Christian 
women — I think they are Christians; I think they 
are good, but they are over on the shady side 
most of the time ; and when they talk they have* more 
to say about their trials and their troubles and their 
difficulties than about anything else. Oh, what a 
wonderful fight they do have to get on at all! and 
it is all about their troubles and their crosses and 
their difficulties and hardships. Unconverted men 
and women hearing them conclude, "Well, if it is 
such a terrible thing to be a Christian, I do not choose 
to be a Christian." You make the wrong impression 
on the minds of those that are about you. They do 
not know how to analyze this language of yours ; they 
do not know what to make of it. They conclude that 
it must be a terribly hard thing to be a Christian, if 
it is such a fight as that. Now, I want to tell you, 
so that you will never forget, just what is the trouble 
with you — that is, you that have so much to say about 
your trials and crosses and difficulties and hardships. 
I want to put it into your minds and into your hearts, 
so that you will never forget it. I do not doubt that 
you are telling the truth from where you are. Your 
trouble is not in the weight of the yoke; not in the 
weight of the burden. Your trouble is in not having 
the yoke of Christ on straight. The yoke is made to 
fit straight, and if you get it on a little awry, it will 
chafe you; and if it feels heavy to you, and if it 
chafes you and galls you, take it for granted that your 
yoke is not on straight, I will put the words of Jesus 



Change Yoked 



441 



against the words of the whole world, and when Jesus 
says, "My yoke is easy/' it is so. Heaven and earth 
will pass away, and the very throne of God fall, if 
that word fails. He says it is light, and so it is ; and 
if it is not light to you, you have not got it on straight. 

!Now, the question comes : What about getting on 
the yoke of Christ straight I How may I do this \ 
How can I do it ? What does it imply ? What does 
it include ? Well, I will tell yqu. To put on the* yoke 
of Christ as it ought to be put on is to accept of 
Christ's religion for all there is of it and all there 
is in it — the whole business from first to last; and 
you will never get on smoothly and pleasantly and 
nicely until you do voluntarily and understandingly 
accept of Christ and his religion for all there is in 
it and for all there is of it. But you ask: "How 
may I do this ? How can I get to him ? I want to 
get there. I want to take Christ and his religion for 
all there is in it ; what must I do that I may reach 
that point ?" I know of no better way ; I know of 
no other way under the heavens than to make a full, 
complete', and unreserved consecration; in the same 
way and at the same time and at the same place 
gather up all you have and all you are and put it on 
the blessed, sacred altar, and then leave it there. But 
I say to you, it will cost you something of a struggle. 
It does not need to be very emotional ; does not need 
to be very intellectually or intelligently thoughtful. 
Just go to God on your knees; it may be in the 
church ; it may be in your chamber ; it may be on the 
street ; it may be anywhere, no matter where. When- 



4A2 Hiography of Jonathan Weaver 



ever you can, just simply gather up your all and put 
it on the altar, and leave it there ; that is the thing 
to do. The happiest man or happiest woman outside 
of heaven is that man or that woman who has all 
on the altar, who can feel, my soul, my body, my 
life, my time, my talent, my influence, my reputa- 
tion, my character, my everything is on the altar. 
When you put everything on the altar, it will bring 
you into quite another realm. And I say to these 
young Christians, See to it right soon that you gather 
up your little all and put it on the altar, and that 
will bring you into another realm. 

I will tell you where we are living most of the 
time — once in a while we get out of it; but most of 
the time we are living down on that low, marshy, 
swampy plain called the plain of Duty. There is a 
good deal of chills and fever, and quite a good deal 
of ague down there. It is not the place for us to 
live. It is the region of duty; and I wonder, now, 
if I will not come in the neighborhood of some of 
your experiences. Men and women do what they do 
for Christ, usually, because they feel it their duty. 
They pray because they feel it is their duty to pray ; 
they go to church because they feel it is their duty to 
go to church ; they will talk, once in a while, because 
they feel it is their duty to speak occasionally, and 
they will sing because they feel that it is their duty 
to sing; and, the fact is, if you come right down to 
the last analysis, that the great body of Christian 
men and women to-day are on that line. They are 
doing what they do because they feel it is their duty. 



Change Yokes 



443 



Preachers preach sometimes because they say they 
feel that it is their duty, and it is pretty dry preach- 
ing, too. And when men pray simply because they 
feel that it is their duty, it is a dry prayer; and 
the whole service and the whole affair from beginning 
to end is dry. Where shall we go to get out of that 
low land upon the table-lands, where we shall do what 
we do for God and his cause because we are up there % 
There is that heaven on earth — the heaven of love. 
It is the same kind that you will find up yonder. It 
is that by which angels are moved. Jesus did not 
come to this world because it was his duty. Bless 
you, no; he came to save us, because he loved us. 
It was love that moved the great heart of God to 
promise his Son. It is love from beginning to end ; 
and that is precisely where you and I ought to be, and 
the sooner we can get there the better it will be for 
us. We shall then, do what we do because we love 
to do it. When you get into the realm of love you 
will see a wonderful difference between that and the 
low land of duty. At some time in your lives some 
of you may have been going along through a field, 
in summer, and become very thirsty, and there was 
a well in the field, and a pump; and you went to it 
and took hold of the handle and worked with all your 
might; it would not do anything much but squeak. 
If you could get a little water and prime it, and 
then pump very hard, you would get just a little, 
sickly stream out of it — that is all you could get. 
That represents the Christian that lives on the plain 
of duty. You have to pump and work, and there is 



444 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



not much when you get out all they have. But the 
one that lives in the realm of love is just like an 
ever-flowing fountain, just gushing right out of the 
soul all the time. Oh, to serve God and to work for 
God because we love to is a heaven on earth ! Love 
sets our hearts in a flame if we get into this realm. 
I know of but one way to get there — that is full, 
complete, and entire consecration. We preach con- 
secration, pray consecration, and talk consecration, 
but it is another thing to do it It is just to feel that 
everything is on the blessed altar. 

God works through means. I do not say that he 
necessarily does so, but he does, nevertheless ; that is 
God's way. Now, if you want God to help you, and 
if you want God to hear you when you pray, you 
must put everything at his disposal — everything. 
God works through means, through instrumentalities, 
and when you put everything at his disposal, God 
can work through these means and through these in- 
strumentalities and through these agencies and get to 
your heart, and bless you and help you and do you 
good. You have prayed with all the soul and heart 
you have, and yet, some way, your prayer has not 
been answered ; maybe it was because you did not put 
everything at God's disposal, so that he could bring 
to your heart the relief you sought. 

But now, having put everything on the altar, hav- 
ing put the yoke of Christ on properly, what then? 
Jesus says, "Ye shall find rest unto your souls." And 
now I want to talk just a short time about this soul 
rest. There is a kind of paradox here, I know ; there 



Change Yokes 



seems to be a kind of contradiction; but, neverthe- 
less, it is just as the Master said. How it is that a 
man or woman can find rest under a joke, might be 
the question, but we know that there are such para- 
doxes in the Holy Scriptures. Jesus taught us that 
if we want to go up we must get down — "He that 
humbleth himself shall be exalted. " The way to get 
up is to get down; the way to find soul rest is to 
get under the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ; and 
under the yoke of Christ you will find a perfect rest 
from condemnation. No man can rest while his con- 
science troubles him. No man can find inner rest 
as long as he is conscious that he is under condemna- 
tion ; it is utterly impossible. We must be free from 
condemnation before we can rest Under the yoke 
of Christ you find rest from condemnation. Then, 
you will find rest under the yoke of Christ from 
fear ; that is, from that kind of fear that is torment. 
The apostle speaks of a fear that is torment that 
makes us restless, keeps us continually unhappy ; but 
under the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall find 
a perfect rest from all that slavish and tormenting 
fear. Under the yoke of Christ, furthermore, you 
will find the rest of contentment, I think I ought 
to spend a minute or two on this, because many 
Christians trouble themselves and worry themselves 
when there is no need of it. We bring* a great deal 
of wretchedness to our hearts and to our homes for 
want of this spirit of contentment There is such a 
state. Paul says, "Godliness with contentment is 
great gain." Now, what godliness without content- 



4:46 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



ment might be, I do not know; the apostle does not 
tell us anything about it. Indeed, I doubt if there 
can be such a thing as godliness without contentment. 
The apostle says, "Having food and raiment, let us be 
therewith content" ; and, further, we are taught that 
in whatever condition he was placed he had learned 
to be content ; so there is such a state of grace — and 
now, to explain it to you so that you do not get on 
the wrong side of it. I do not mean by this con- 
tentment that we are simply to sit down and do noth- 
ing, and thereby try to bring contentment to our 
souls. I mean that men or women shall do the very 
best they can do, the best they know how to do, and 
then it is their privilege to be contented with their 
lot, with the consciousness that they have done the 
best they can do. But do not try to force yourself 
into a state of contentment, with the consciousness 
that you are not doing the best you know how; it 
only comes to that soul that is in the line of doing — 
doing this and doing that, according to the very best 
light and information it may have. We reason 
wrong all the time. We are miserable philosophers. 
The fact is, we are not worthy the name of philos- 
ophers. We look about us, and we are always look- 
ing about us rather than in, and we see along every 
road, almost, persons whose circumstances, we imag- 
ine, are ever so much better than ours. We say, "Oh, 
if I were just fixed like that man, or like that woman, 
if I just had things around me like that one and this 
one, then I would be happy." We bring ourselves 
to a state of disquiet and discontent, because our sur- 



Change Yokes 



447 



roundings are not as the surroundings of somebody 
else. E"ow, why not look along the other line a little, 
once in a while, and see if there are not those with 
whom we would not exchange circumstances? Are 
there not those worse off still than we are ? Why, in- 
stead of looking around and bringing to ourselves 
wretchedness, because we imagine somebody else is 
in better circumstances than we, we ought to go on 
thanking God that it is as well with us as it is*; that 
it is no worse than it is. One cold morning, a 
man was fretting and worrying himself within an 
inch of his life, almost, because he had no shoes worth 
anything, and no money; and he was wretchedly 
miserable because of his circumstances, and ready 
to say that no man in this world has as hard a lot 
as he had. While he was fretting and worrying, a 
team came along, and in the wagon was a man that 
had no feet at all; his feet had been taken off. 
"Well," he said to himself, "after all, I am better 
off than that man. If he had ever so much money, 
and ever so many pairs of shoes, he would have nc 
feet to put them on. I would rather have these old 
shoes and these feet than to have no feet at all." 
Look about you, friends; things are almost even in 
this world. One has pleasure, maybe, in one way, 
and you can have it in some other way. If we have 
a mind to make it so, we will come out about even. 
Bless your life, you need not sit down and fret be- 
cause your environments are not such as you would 
select. They are a thousand times better than we 
deserve: and we just ought to go on thanking God 



448 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

day in and day out that we are as well circumstanced 
as we are. I say to you, friends, under the yoke 
of the Lord Jesus Christ there is such blessed soul 
rest, if you enter into it, that I defy the circum- 
stances with which you are surrounded to make you 
miserabla They cannot do it An old lady, whose 
husband and children were all dead, and who had not 
an earthly relative that she knew of, was very poor 
in this world, and the neighbors took pity on her 
finally and took her to the poorhouse, and placed her 
in a little room by herself. She was old and frail 
and feeble, but seemed to be perfectly contented and 
perfectly happy all the time. A gentleman who fre- 
quently visited the poorhouse, passing along the hall, 
looked into that little room where this old lady was 
lying on her cot, so quiet and so calm. Every once 
in a while he thought he noticed a smile that would 
light up her old wrinkled face* One day, he, out of 
curiosity, thought he would turn in and talk with 
her; and he sat down by her cot, and said, "I have 
noticed you here for some time, and I have been 
wondering how it is and why it is, with these sur- 
roundings, that you can be so calm and so quiet and 
so contented." She looked up into his face, and an 
unearthly smile lit up her old, wrinkled brow. a O 
sir," said she, "I am just thinking all the time what 
a change it will be from the poorhouse to heaven." 
Don't you see that under the yoke of Christ there is 
that blessed contentment, that quiet, and peace, and 
contentment that the environments cannot destroy? 
They cannot throw it off. Bless your precious lives ! 



Change Yokes 



449 



we can enter it to-day ; we can find it to-day ; do the 
best we can, and then be contented and happy. But 
Peter presents it more beautifully than I could, if 
I were to study for a lifetime, and he presents it in 
such language that it seems to me it just ought to fill 
our souls. He says, "Casting all your care upon 
him; for he careth for you/' 

To illustrate my thought concerning this soul rest, 
just let me have a minute or two on this beautiful 
text that Peter gives us. "Casting all" — but it takes 
a great deal of faith to do it ; and yet there is a power 
in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that will enable 
the soul to do just this thing — to cast all its care 
upon Jesus ; and the beauty of it, it seems to me, lies 
upon this line. iSTow, there are some things that 
you and I will never know unless we learn them in 
the school of experience. I do not care how fine 
schooling you have had, I do not care how thoroughly 
you may have been instructed, there are lessons that 
no man or woman outside of heaven will learn except 
as they learn them in the school of experience. Let 
me illustrate: Perhaps you have gone to a neigh- 
bor's house just about the time that death entered that 
house. Your sympathies were enlisted. You sat 
down with them and watched with them, maybe, till 
death had done its work, and then you turned to the 
bereaved ones and said such words of comfort and 
consolation as you could; and your sympathies be- 
came so much enlisted that you thought you felt it 
almost as keenly as they felt it. I have had such 
experiences, when my sympathies were enlisted so 

29 



450 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



that I thought I felt it as keenly as they did. But, see 
here! Do you remember when death came to your 
own house, and you had to sit down by your own 
bed, that there came to your heart an experience that 
you never knew till then ? You thought you knew ; 
you did not, you could not know till it came right to 
your own door, to your own home. I remember, 
thirty-five years ago, one bright Sabbath morning, I 
was asked to preach at the funeral of a young married 
lady. She had been married only two or three 
months. She was a member of my congregation, and 
I remember how my feelings were enlisted in sym- 
pathy with that young husband; so much so that it 
was very difficult for me to get on with the services. 
When I buried that young wife from his side, it 
seemed as though it would break his heart; and I 
remember how my own heart was all torn, it seemed 
to me, to shreds. As I turned away from that grave, 
I thought I felt it as he did; I thought it was not 
possible for any one to feel it more than I did. But, 
on the next Sabbath morning, just as the day dawned, 
death came in at my own window and laid his cold 
hand upon my young wife; and I sat down by the 
side of my own bed and learned that morning what 
I never knew before, what I never could have known. 

ISTow, the use I want to make of that is this : J esus 
knows by experience what it is to live in this world. 
He has been here. He knows all about it ; and when 
you go to Jesus to cast your burden upon him, you 
go to one who knows by experience what it is to 
live hera Oh, I wish I could lead you this morning 



Change Yokes 



451 



to go to him, if you have a single trouble, if you have 
a single sorrow, or a single grief. Just look at it; 
there is one that will comfort you. The tempter will 
be after you, directly. Yes ; the tempter will coma 
He will pursue you with all vengeance ; but when 
the tempter comes you go and tell Jesus all about it, 
and if you listen, the ear of your soul will catch the 
blessed answer, "Child, I know what sore tempta-> 
tions mean, for I have felt the same." Grief stirs 
your heart ; go and tell it to Jesus, and he will whisper 
back to your soul, "Child, I know what sorrows are, 
for I was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with 
grief." He pressed every inch of ground you will 
have to press between this and heaven. Peter under- 
stood it, and he said, "'Go and cast all your care 
upon him, for he careth for you." He has been here ; 
he knows by experience what it is to be here; and, 
therefore, when you go to him with your aching, 
troubled, bleeding heart, you go to one that is in full 
sympathy with you, casting all your cares upon him. 
Xot the great ones, but all — every one. Go to Jesus. 
I could not recommend to you anything better than 
to do as John's disciples did. You remember that 
John was cast into prison, and after a while he was 
beheaded; and John's disciples, learning that sad 
fact, obtained permission, as I suppose, to go to the 
prison. At all events, they went, and gathered up 
his headless body and took it away and buried it; 
and then what did they do ? They went and told 
Jesus. They could not have done anything better. 
So, when sorrows come, and temptations, when trials 



452 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



or afflictions come, it is no sin to tell it to your neigh- 
bor and friend, but go first and tell it to Jesus, for 
there is no one in the universe that knows so well 
how to help you and how to sympathize with you as 
the Lord Jesus. Oh, we need to enter into closer 
communion with him. We need to get right up close 
to him, so that we feel the pulsations of his great, 
warm, throbbing heart; and if you live there, you 
will find continuing and perpetual soul rest. 

This soul rest that the believer finds under the yoke 
of Christ is a rest in trouble. It seems so strange, and 
yet it is so. It may be that some one of you was in 
the army. If you were not, you have doubtless read 
of men who had fought hard all day, and when night 
came could not go back in camp, for the battle 
was not yet decided. They simply had to stay right 
on the field where they fought ; but they were weary 
and eixhausted; and many a poor soldier lay down 
on his arms and slept soundly, and maybe dreamed 
of home, though it were a thousand miles away. He 
rested, but it was a rest in trouble. So, in like man- 
ner, the Christian with his armor on may find soul 
rest on the field, and have patience and have con- 
tentment, and then a better home that may be to us, 
apparently, far away. Under the yoke of Christ, I 
insist upon it, believers will find perpetual rest, and 
this soul rest is but the Sabbath dawn. There comes 
after this that everlasting rest. 

Now, see to it, Christians, that you have the yoke 
on properly. If you feel that it is on a little crooked, 
this day ? before the sun goes down, go to God in con- 



Winning /Souls 



453 



seeration; see that you have the yoke on right, and 
then, to-night, or to-morrow night, or whenever you 
have an opportunity, you will say, to the honor of 
the Lord J esus Christ, "His yoke is easy." I find it 
so. May he bless us. 



Winning Souls. 

[Preached at Grand Rapids, Michigan, September 2, 1894.] 

"He that winneth souls is wise" (Prov. 11:30). 
"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness 
of the firmament ; and they that turn many to right- 
eousness as the stars for ever and ever" (Dan. 12 : 3). 
"Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner 
from the error of his way shall save a soul from 
death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (Jas. 
5:20). 

I have read these three verses because they bear 
directly on the same thought I shall aim to call 
your attention to a few practical thoughts suggested 
by the reading of these several scriptures. 

The first thought that would naturally suggest it- 
self is concerning the immortality and the future 
existence of the soul. Is it all of life to live here ? 
Is there anything beyond what we see and know in 
this life ? In other words, does death end all ? Now, 
I have not time nor strength nor disposition to argue 
this question at length. I only wish to call your 



454 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



attention to a few thoughts with which we are 
very familiar, in evidence of the immortality and 
future existence of the soul. It seems to me our own 
consciousness ought to settle the question beyond all 
reasonable controversy. We can overcome logical 
arguments, maybe ; we may be able to overcome meta- 
physical arguments, but to overcome the argument 
arising from our consciousness is beyond our power. 
Whether we are well settled in mind as to what con- 
science is, is not material; there is something about 
us that we recognize, or call consciousness, and we 
cannot get away from ourselves. You believe, and 
you cannot help it, that there is something remain- 
ing for man after this life, and those who go about 
arguing against the immortality of man, and in favor 
of his materiality alone, are simply arguing with their 
own consciousness, trying to make themselves believe 
what they know to be untrue. If there was not an- 
other argument in all the range of human thought in 
proof of man's future existence, the fact of his pres- 
ent dissatisfaction would be altogether sufficient. If 
man is altogether mortal, there ought to be enough 
in this material world to fully and completely satisfy 
him. ISTow, we are in the habit of using the word 
"satisfied," but, carrying it to the last analysis, we 
have no right to use that word ; for I seriously doubt 
if it is possible for any man or woman to reach a 
position in this life when they can truthfully say, 
"I am satisfied." You may be contented, and ought 
to be when you are conscious of doing the best 
you can, but to be satisfied is another thing. 



Winning Souls 



455 



One would think, from the many promises that 
God had given to Israel concerning the land of 
Canaan, its richness, its beauty, its excellency, that 
it ought to have satisfied them; but with all the 
glorious representations of that goodly land that the 
Israelites heard, they were not satisfied. You read 
Paul, in Hebrews, eleventh chapter, and you will find 
this language, in full view of Canaan, with all its 
richness, with its fruits and milk and honey, and the 
wholesome water — with a full view of it, Paul says, 
"But now they desire a better country, that is, an 
heavenly." 

One would think that Hainan ought to have been 
satisfied when he was next to the king in authority. 
He was a man held in great honor among the peo- 
ple; he rode the king's horse; was arrayed in the 
richest of robes ; almost everybody bowed to Haman 
as he rode along the streets everywhere, because he 
was second only to the king. And so Queen Esther 
made a banquet, to which she invited the king and 
Haman alone. He was wonderfully elated over it, 
and with the king he banqueted with the queen, and 
at the close she invited them to the banquet on the 
following day. He went home and told his wife, 
called his relatives, called them all about him, and 
told of his riches and his honor and of his glory, 
and, "What do you think ? To-morrow Queen Esther 
invites the king and me, us two and no more, to 
banquet with her." Do you not think, under the cir- 
cumstances, that he ought to have been satisfied ? 
But he was not. There was one poor old Jew, sitting 



456 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



down there by the gate, that would not bow, and that 
was the fly in the ointment. He was not satisfied. 
A thousand had bowed to him on that day, and a 
thousand would bow to him on the following day, 
but that poor old Jew would not bow to him, hence 
he was not satisfied, notwithstanding his environ- 
ments. And so now, and you need not sit there 
and deny it, each of you has a Mordecai sitting 
around somewhere. You would be contented with 
that and with this, if only Mordecai was out of the 
way. You will never get him out of the way, and 
you will not have reached the place where you can 
say, "Satisfied," until you reach that condition rep- 
resented by David when he said, "I shall be satisfied, 
when I awake, with thy likeness." Till then you 
will find this dissatisfaction. 

You have built houses, some of you; you have 
called an architect to your assistance, and you have 
planned and arranged, and made your building ac- 
cording to your plans ; you have furnished your house, 
and your friends have come in, and they have con- 
gratulated you on your success — "What a beautiful 
house! How completely everything is arranged." 
"That is so, but if I had another to build, it would 
be" — don't you know ? You said so, and you know 
you said so; and you keep on building houses until 
you die, a hundred years old, and the last one will be 
no better than the rest, in so far as rendering per- 
fect satisfaction is concerned. 

Now, then, it appears to me that the God who 
formed us has arranged that some time, somewhere, 



Winning jSo uls 



457 



we shall find environments in the midst of which 
we can truthfully say, "I am satisfied." It is not 
here, but it is there. And so it proves, beyond a 
reasonable doubt, there is something in us or about us 
that does not inhere in matter, something that is 
above us, something that is beyond us. 

But I will not detain you upon this. I want to 
speak now of the sad condition of an unsaved soul. 
What is the condition of the souls of men and women 
away from Christ ? It is one of the saddest pictures 
that was ever drawn before the mind of a mortal. 
I doubt if there could be a sadder picture drawn be- 
fore the vision of an angel than the condition of a 
soul unsaved. We talk, sometimes, solemnly of the 
awful loss of an immortal soul in the eternities. 
"Oh," we say, "how dreadful!" I read, once, the 
description called "The Funeral of a Lost Soul." 
It is a picture that ought to all but curdle the 
blood in our veins. The funeral of a lost soul as it 
passes away from this tabernacle into the unseen! 
It is a sad, it is a dark and gloomy picture, but let 
this thought come home to you, that the soul is in 
a lost state now, and all there is between you and 
that eternal state is the little brittle thread of life; 
if once severed, the loss becomes eternal. 

My friends, I speak to the unsaved, you are lost 
to-day, and you are hardly aware that you are carry- 
ing about in you an immortal something that is in 
a condition, which, if you could see it as God sees it, 
would alarm you. Why, the Scriptures represent it 
as being stained, as being red as scarlet and crimson ; 



458 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 

then it is represented not as being at enmity against 
God, but as enmity itself. The carnal man is en- 
mity against God; in spite of yourself, with that 
unsaved soul, you are at war against God and against 
heaven; against everything that is pure, against 
everything that is lovely, against everything that is 
sacred ; and you cannot help it. You may try to rule 
yourself down to it, you may try, by the force of 
will, to bring yourself into subjection to that which 
is pure and right, but you cannot do it. Paul says, 
"It is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed 
can be." No man or woman can be in obedience to 
the government of Heaven as long as they have 
within them that soul unsaved — lost, polluted, enmity 
against God and everything that is pure and sacred. 

But, passing from this, with only a statement of 
the fact, we come to another thought, and thjat is 
this : What is implied and included in winning a 
soul to Christ? Now, I want to be very careful in 
my statements here, for it is a fearful thing to make 
a mistake on this point, and these ministers should 
study this subject with the very greatest of care. 
Oh, to direct a soul wrong, to rock the conscience to 
sleep in false security, if possible, is a thought that 
ought to wake us up. Why, my brother, you can- 
not afford it. What, then, does it mean to win a 
soul to Christ ? Negatively, it means more than to 
win men and women to our opinion, however correct 
we may be, however sound our opinions may be. We 
have not won a soul to Christ when we have simply 
won them to our opinions. It means more than to 



Winning Souls 



459 



win men and women into the denomination of which 
we may be a member. I am speaking not a word 
against this ; I am only speaking negatively of win- 
ning a soul to Christ. You may win men and women 
into the church by the scores and hundreds, and not 
one of them won to Christ. Now, I want to insist 
upon it, beloved, that you are careful along this line. 
I am as certain as I can be certain of anything that 
I do not know absolutely, that the denominations to- 
day are filling up with unconverted men and women. 
That may seem to you to be a broad and unreason- 
able charge, but I fear that it is too true. A lawyer 
in the city of Dayton, when approached on this ques- 
tion, on the matter of coming to the Saviour, said 
to the pastor of one of our churches, "I have my 
views of Christianity, and it is my deliberate opinion 
that you are making it altogether too< easy to become 
a Christian; you are making the way too easy." 
That from an unconverted man, who could only look 
on, and who, perhaps, had correct views of what it 
was to be a Christian ! 

You teach your people that nothing less than re- 
pentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ will suffice. And now, what is repentance? 
Well, it is a little more than reformation. A man 
may reform a thousand times, and never repent once ; 
but if a man repents with an evangelical repentance, 
reformation will be included — it follows ; but refor- 
mation may occur without one particle of repentance. 
There are to us what may appear strange paradoxes. 
The idea of a man going down in order to go 



460 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



up is strange reasoning, you say, but it is Bible doc- 
trine. If we humble ourselves, we shall be exalted, 
but if we exalt ourselves, we shall be abased. The 
way to go up is to go down, and repentance implies 
going down ; it means the breaking up of our whole 
carnal nature; but, positively, it implies a regenera- 
tion, a reconstruction of our whole moral nature. 
What would Jesus say if he were here to-day and 
his attention called to this very thought ? He would 
say, without any equivocation, "Ye must be born 
again.'' Well, you might say, "I don't understand 
it ; I cannot comprehend it." He would repeat, 
''Alarvel not that I say unto thee, Ye must be born 
again." There are no "ifs" or "ands" about it ; there 
must be a complete and radical change of the whole 
moral nature. Why, it is represented in the Scrip- 
tures as a resurrection from the dead. You are dead 
in trespasses and sins; but Paul says that we are 
risen with Christ. Then, it is called a "quickening," 
bringing into life. How hath he quickened us ''who 
were dead in trespasses and sins" ! So, then, to be 
won to Christ there must be a complete change of 
our moral nature, a reconstruction from the ground 
up. Accompanying this is the assurance, is the in- 
ward evidence that this work of grace is wrought in 
the soul. Do the Scriptures so teach \ Let us see. 
A long time ago, an old man said, "I know that my 
redeemer liveth." About the same time, or maybe a 
little later, another said, "As far as the east is from 
the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions 
from us." A little later, another said, "In that day, 



Winning Souls 



461 



O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry 
with me, thine anger is turned away, thou comf ortedst 
ma 7 ' Later still, another said, "The Spirit itself 
[or himself] beareth witness with our spirit that we 
are the sons of God." A little later, the same one 
said, 'Tor we know that if our earthly house of this 
tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, 
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 
A little later, another said, "Blessed be the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according 
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a 
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from 
the dead." A little later, another said, "He that be- 
lieveth on the Son of God hath the witness in him- 
self" ; and, again, another said, "Because ye are sons, 
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your 
hearts, crying, Abba, Father." 

Will all this take place within a man and he be 
ignorant of it? Will it? Can it? I tell you, be- 
loved, you can be just as sure you are saved as you 
are sure you are alive — just as sure. You can be 
just as sure you are saved as you are sure you are 
lost. Why, religion would be of little account to us 
in this life, if it were not for this inner assurance ; 
it is a dry life, I assure you, to live on mere "hope 
so." But there comes the quickening, the inspiring 
influence of the Holy Spirit, and because of this as- 
surance, and because of this inner consciousness, 
Christians every once in a while get happy over it. 

You remember, one time, when J esus sent his dis- 
ciples out and gave them power over unclean spirits, 



462 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



and over diseases, and one thing and another, and they 
went out on a little missionary tour, and they met 
with wonderful success, that they came back highly 
elated, and made their report. "Why," they said 
to the Master, "even the devils are subject to us." 
The Saviour did not rebuke them because they were 
cheerful over their success, but he said, "Rather re- 
joice because your names are written in heaven." It 
is a wonderful thing to cast out devils and heal 
diseases and to know evil spirits are subject to us, 
but it is more wonderful, by far, to know that our 
names are written in heaven. I declare to you to- 
day, beloved, I would rather be conscious of this 
fact than of any other one thing in the universe* 
There are ten thousand times ten thousand things I 
would like to know that I do not know, and maybe 
will not know ; I don't know when in the eternities 
I may know them ; but this one thing I do, or may 
know even now, that my name is written in heaven. 
I do not expect it could be found in the archives at 
Washington; I do not expect it could be found in 
the records of your State at Lansing; I do not sup- 
pose so, and I do not care, but to know that my name 
is written in heaven, that is above all, that is worth 
more than all the rest. To be won to Christ means 
just this much, that you are to know for yourself that 
you are saved, that you are his, and that he is yours. 

But I may say, in a general way, that to be won 
to Christ means not in halves nor in parts, but it 
means the whole man— the head and the heart and 
the life. "Well, I can go that pretty well," one says, 



Winning Souls 



463 



"the head, I can go that, and the heart and the life, 
if that is all that is meant." It is all, so far as it goes, 
but God has made you a steward and put into your 
hands a certain trust, and in coming over to Christ's 
side you must just bring all over except sin; that be- 
longs to you. Soul, body, and spirit, houses, lands, 
money, everything else. Sometimes it is even easier 
to get men converted inside than to get their pockets 
converted. I do not say that everybody that comes 
into the church, or on Christ's side, I do not say they 
are to give everything away, all that they have. I 
never thought that. iSFo, no, but to feel and realize 
that what they have belongs to the Lord. Why, my 
brother, you can enjoy what you have a thousand 
times better if you have this view of it, that what 
you have belongs to the Lord. But, is it a fact? 
Let us see* "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness 
thereof" ; "the cattle upon a thousand hills" are his. 
.Now, if you have anything outside of that, I suppose 
it is your own. He has the first mortgage and the 
first claim, and when you come over to him you must 
just come over wholesale. It is so unhandy to be 
running back and forth. Take a part of it over on 
the other side, and you will have to be running away 
looking after it; better just bring it all along, and 
when you are all on the Lord's side then you are 
happy. 

But, another thought: Upon whom does the re- 
sponsibility of winning souls to Christ rest ? 

We answer, first, preeminently upon the minister. 
We say this because God has called men to this work 



464 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



specifically j and because he has called men to this 
work specifically, therefore it preeminently rests upon 
that class of persons. And now, to succeed as a work- 
man, to succeed in winning souls to Christ, a good 
many things are necessary of which I cannot speak. 
I will name just a few, and among these, first, of 
course, the heart must be right Then, secondly, you 
must prepare for it just the very best that your en- 
vironments will permit you. ''Study to show thy- 
self approved unto God, a workman that needeth not 
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 
Any man can divide the word of truth in some man- 
ner, I suppose, but to divide the word of truth right- 
fully will require careful, close, persevering thought. 
!Now, I go in for all the religion the heart will hold, 
but, in connection with that, I want men in the min- 
istry to prepare themselves intellectually, just as far 
as it is possible. 0 my brother, you are studying a 
Book that contains more than you will ever know. 
I remember, fifty years ago, and there along, I looked 
at the Bible. Why it seemed to me not to contain 
so very much; it seemed to me that it ought to be 
mastered in a very few years ; and I read it and read 
it, to be sure, and thought along this line and along 
that line. Why, it seemed to me, in a comparatively 
short time, I was right over in the midst of God ? s 
flower-garden, just gathering up the flowers as I 
pleased ; but as the years came and went I began to 
see something that I had not seen in the early part of 
my ministry, and now, after fifty years, I am not in 
the garden at all, I am just at the fence, looking over, 



Winning Souls 



465 



that is all. I do not know how it is with you, but 
I find when I open the Bible and read those passages 
that I committed to memory forty years ago, and 
have quoted a thousand times, maybe, as my eyes 
fall upon them, up will flash some new blessed 
truth I have never seen. You may analyze it and 
carry it to the last analysis, and beyond the depth 
of your mind there are hidden truths and treasures. 
I beg of you as a minister to study the Word of God 
with all the helps you can bring around it; make 
it your text-book, make that your text-book before 
every other, but get all the help you can to unfold 
and to explain, and to assist you in comprehending its 
truths. I am sometimes astonished at preachers, (I 
don't know how it is with you,) they get short of a 
text. "I have no text, I don't know what to do," — 
with that blessed God's Book before them and cannot 
find a text ! 

You just undertake to preach all there is in the 
fifth chapter of Matthew, will you \ Just commence 
on that if you cannot find a text, and if you are young 
your head will be as white as mine before you get 
through with that chapter. You can preach a dozen 
sermons, if you want to, from one single sentence of 
the fifth chapter of Matthew, and you will find it 
so almost anywhere else in God's Word. The reason 
why you cannot find a text is because you have not 
studied, you have not gone with your bucket to the 
well and let it down to draw up the rich fountains 
of truth therein contained. But to succeed, you must 
not only have the mental culture, the mental prepara- 

30 



466 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



tion, but you must be a busy man, a very busy man. 
Mind you, your work is to win souls to Christ Do 
not forget that You go out this year to your fields 
of labor, what for I If for any other purpose than 
to win souls to Christ, I beg of you to hand the pre- 
siding elder your resignation before sundown. Do it, 
I beseech of you. If you have a higher thought than 
to win souls to Christ, never go near the field of 
labor, unless your heart is made over again. You 
must go for that purpose, and then you must be a 
busy man. Do not expect to do your whole work in 
the pulpit; a part of it, only a part of it is done 
there. You must go among the people, go after 
them; and you must go to those that are away 
down. 

I read, awhile ago, about a young lady in the city 
of New York, just after a heavy, dashing rain, walk- 
ing along the street near to the curbstone. She had 
on a finger a most beautiful ring, and, some way or 
another, it dropped from her finger into a pool of 
muddy, filthy water, right by the side of the curb- 
stone. She was very nicely dressed, but that ring 
was to her a very great treasure, and without look- 
ing who would see her, and without a moment's hesi- 
tation, she kneeled down by the side of the pool on 
the wet pavement, rolled up her sleeves, and reached 
down into that muddy water, feeling around, and at 
last found the jewel. The lady seemed delighted, 
notwithstanding the humiliation in reaching after it. 
There is many a jewel down in the filth and mire, 
and if you win souls to Christ you must get down 



Winning Souls 



467 



and reach, for them. There is many a jewel down in 
the very bottom of those pools, jewels in the sight 
of Heaven, that, if polished, will shine as brightly as 
Paul will shina To be a soul-winner is to be a busy 
man, to look around and about and to find souls 
wherever you can find them. Poor they may be, but, 
bless you, look after the poor — look after them ; they 
have it hard enough anyway, and to be neglected by 
ministers is shameful, absolutely shameful. Go after 
them and lead them to Christ, if you can. 

Then, I want to tell you, do not go out scolding the 
people. If you have a disposition to scold, quit it, 
will you I quit your scolding ! Scolding is not 
preaching. Xo, no. Preach the truth plainly, but 
kindly. Do you know, more souls are won to Christ 
by kind words and kind acts than can ever be won 
by harsh words and harsh acts. It was just a kind 
word that won John B. Gough. Sitting out there 
in filth and rags, a gentleman came along and said 
to Mr. Gough, "'Will you go with me to the temper- 
ance meeting ?" Mr. Gough declined, to be sure. He 
thought of his clothes and his filth and his condition, 
he thought it would never to do to walk with that 
nice, cleanly dressed gentleman, but a better thought 
came after awhile, to this effect, "If he is not ashamed 
to walk with me, I ought not to be ashamed to walk 
with him," and so he moved along. A kind word 
did it. I read, not long ago, of a man in a hospital, 
a poor, miserable wreck, that had been a wreck for 
years and years. A lawyer went into the hospital, 
and, coming to the poor fellow's cot, spoke kindly to 



&68 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



him, and the man drew the cover over his face and 
wept and sobbed as if his heart would break. When 
he recovered sufficiently to speak, he said to the law- 
yer, "You are the first man who ever spoke a kind 
word to me, and I can't stand it." I tell you, there 
are many hearts that have been cuffed and scourged 
in one way and another that are just aching and bleed- 
ing for a kind word. Say some kind words to the 
fallen, and those away from Christ, and in this way 
you may bring them to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

But this responsibility rests with equal force upon 
the whole church. You read in the last chapter of 
Revelation, in almost the last verse, these words, "The 
Spirit and the bride [which is the church] say, 
Come." It is the language of the church generally, 
and so it becomes the duty of every member of the 
church to aid the pastor in this work. 

Now let me say, beloved, there is nothing better 
than cooperation between the pastor and his people — 
cooperation. The pastor should cooperate with his 
people, and the people should cooperate with the pas- 
tor. But some men seem to have a strange inter- 
pretation of that word "cooperation." Why, they 
seem to think the word "co" means together, and 
"operation" means to sit still, so that by cooperation 
they mean to sit still together. But it has a more 
active meaning than that. Let the pastor do his best, 
and the church second his motion, and cooperate with 
him in every possible way. 

Why, any of you can be a soul-winner, if you will. 
It does not take much at some times to win a soul 



Winning /Souls 



469 



to Christ I tell you, it does not. A word fitly 
spoken in the right time and in the right spirit, some- 
times a single word, will bring a soul to Christ. 
Sometimes a single word of a little child has brought 
a soul to Christ. I read, not long ago, of a gentle- 
man that went to a lawyer in New York. The lawyer 
was a man over seventy years of age. The gentle- 
man wanted some instrument of writing prepared, 
and the lawyer sat down and wrote very rapidly; 
the gentleman watched him, and when he was done, 
and about to leave, he asked to see his hand. The 
lawyer showed him his hand. "Why," he said, "for 
a man over seventy years of age, I am surprised to 
see you write so rapidly, as if all the life of youth 
was in that hand." Then he looked at it steadily and 
said, "In just a few years that hand will be cold in 
death," and left him. There was not much in it, to 
be sure; but every time the lawyer took up the pen 
after that, for days, that thought was there, "In a 
short time that hand will be cold in death." And 
it would run along and run along with him as he 
wrote the lines, and got to his heart and into his mind 
and SO' fastened itself upon him that he could not be 
satisfied until he came to the Lord Jesus Christ. And 
so, I say, a word rightly spoken, a song sung, a tear 
shed, a smile, may win a soul to Christ. I tell you, 
my friends, I would rather, in the great day of set- 
tlement, go up to the Throne with a half-dozen souls 
won to Christ than to win all the kingdoms of this 
earth while I am here ; and any of you can win souls 
to Christ, stars in your crown of rejoicing. 



470 



Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



Some one said, in this conference, that he did not 
think he was an instrument or agent in the hands of 
God in bringing men to Christ. It is a blessed thing 
to know it, but you may be an agent in bringing a 
soul to Jesus and not know it until the day of settle- 
ment. We are not to know, and will not know all 
we have done, but we must do all we know and all we 
can. 

Just a word or two farther — the wisdom of win- 
ning a soul to Christ. "He that winneth souls is 
wise." The wisdom of winning a soul to Christ will 
appear if we consider, first, the value of that which 
is won. Look what mortal men have done., how they 
have gone through fields of blood at the risk of their 
lives to win a kingdom; but he that winneth a soul 
to Christ has won more, by far, than he that has won 
a kingdom. Think of what it cost to redeem that 
soul. Nothing less than the suffering and death of 
our Lord Jesus Christ; he came all the way from 
heaven to redeem that soul. It must be of value 
beyond our estimation, else it never would have cost 
what it did to redeem it. 

And then, I would have you think of the capabili- 
ties of that which you win to Christ. A soul won to 
Christ, who knows its capabilities ? who can measure 
its future destiny? Won to heaven, won to eternal 
life, won to a state of angel perfection, and who 
knows the heights to which that immortal soul will 
attain in the vast, ceaseless ages of eternity ? 

I close with a very few words concerning the re- 
ward of those that succeed in winning souls to 



Winning Souls 



471 



Christ: "Let him know, that he which converteth 
the sinner from the error of his way shall save a 
soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." 
"They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of 
the firmament ; and they that turn many to right- 
eousness as the stars for ever and ever." 

Brethren, do not be in too much of a hurry to 
shine. Some preachers try to get it all here, and 
they make a miserable failure of it. Just go on 
humbly, and meekly, and devotedly preaching Christ 
and him crucified, and yqu will shine by and by. 
You will shine in God's own time, and in God's own 
way, and in God's own place. But allow yourself 
to be humble, to be meek, and to be godly, and wait ; 
and the promise is that you shall shine as the stars 
forever and ever; above the brightness of the firma- 
ment, and as the stars forever and ever. 

With such a promise, and with such a reward in 
view, it seems to me that we ought to go out with 
all diligence in winning souls to Christ. 

As I said to you in the opening of this conference, 
I have met with you off and on for thirty years ; per- 
haps this is the thirteenth time I have met with you, 
and I guess there is not one of you present that was 
present at the first conference I attended, not one. 
Others have come and others have gone, and a new 
class of men fill the place now; and you have had 
your trials, and your conflicts, and your sieges, that 
which would have driven, maybe, others from the 
field, but you have stood faithfully, and I can only 
say to you that the promise is, that by and by yon 



472 Biography of Jonathan Weaver 



shall shine as the stars forever and ever. You are 
making sacrifices, doubtless denying yourselves, work- 
ing hard, working discouragingly, but I find that 
same blessed spirit here that I found long years ago 
in this conference — the spirit of consecration, the 
spirit of love, the spirit of kindness, one towards an- 
other. And, if I judge rightly, (and I think I am 
not beclouded in this,) there is open before you a 
bright future, though it may cost you a few years of 
faithful, earnest work before you shall have reached 
that better position; but it is coming, and you will 
reach it, and you young men will live to see the day 
when, if you have stood firmly and been faithful, you 
will rejoice that you were not turned aside, but stood 
firmly for the right, against wrong. 

And now I pray that God's blessing may be upon 
your conference this day. Brethren, I wish you 
would enter into some kind of a covenant with God. 
Five hundred souls for Christ this year ! Some one 
says one hundred souls here, and some one says one 
hundred souls there. So be it. Go out with a fixed 
purpose this year to work with God's help in winning 
souls to Jesus Christ. 



INDEX. 



Advice, his father's to him, 49. 

asked of Dr. Davis, 262. 
Agency, what it taught him, 114. 
Agent, elected to O. U., 77. 
Ague, how it feels, 229. 
Alphabet, how taught, 36. 
Ambiguity of secrecy law, 217. 
Anniversary, seventy-sixth, 382, 
Arithmetic, how taught, 38. 
Articles, some written for paper, 316. 

Bakes, G. G., reply to, 344. 
Baldwin, Rev. J. G., quoted, 61, 198. 
Battle of the giants, 295. 
Beecher, H. W., quoted, 39. 
Beyond, all is quiet, 234. 
Biblical department proposed, 119. 
Biddle, Rev. A., complimented, 52. 
Biographer, every man his own, 21. 
Birthday, seventieth anniversary, 365. 
Brains, where to spread them, 118. 

California, description of, 162. 
Camp-meetings, the first he attended, 47. 
Cars, turned over, 98. 
Cascade Conference held, 171. 
Changes, some that have occurred, 384, 
Character, careful of his, 406. 

Christian, possessed by him, 429. 
Cheyenne, described, 158. 
Children, like parents, 20. 
Chinamen abused, 168. 

Church, first United Brethren in the West, 58, 

as affected by war, 59. 

anxiety for, 226. 

power, 298. 
Circuit, Weaver's first, 61. 

Weaver's reflections on, 215. 
Coast, his first visit to, 156. 
Cold in car, 319. 

College (O. U.), how started, 78. 
Colorado, what it needs, 242. 
Columbia River, a ride on, 169. 
Commission summoned, 299. 

met and organized, 301. 
Complainers, a hint to, 90. 
Confession of Faith, advised to prepare, 332. 

comment on, 358, 
Constitution, often changed, 298. 

473 



474 



Index 



Contest on secrecy, commenced, 259. 
Council Bluffs, what he saw, 150. 
Courage, a man of, 407. 
Courts, appeal to, 323. 

Davy, what he did, 66. 

Davis, Dr., quoted, 79. 

Davis, Dr., reply to Weaver, 291. 

Debate with Rev. J. Davis, 188. 

Debater, Weaver as a, 200. 

Debt, a plan to pay, 105. 

Delivery, impressive, 418. 

Difficulties encountered, 26. 

Discontent in the Church, 279. 

Discussion proposed to Dr. L. Davis, 263. 

Discussions, public, their value, 187. 

in the way of agents, 86. 
Dishonesty of men in church, 146. 
District, East Mississippi, report of, 139. 
Doctrine, Christian, volume on, 357. 



East District, report of for 1870, 183. 
East Mississippi District, report of, 223. 
Eckert, John, his views on education, 82. 
Editor, Weaver proposed for, 122. 
Education, opposed because of ignorance, 93. 
Edwards, strengthened for a debate, 190. 

quoted on secrecy, 227. 
Elam, Dr. quoted, 20. 
Emmerson, quoted, 19. 
Endow, effort to, 101. 
Ezekiel, when sent, 397. 



Faith in God, man and himself, 430. 
Father, Weaver's, described, 27. 
Fathers, the— who were they, 308. 
Fellow passengers described, 160. 
Finley, Rev. James B., quoted, 72. 
Flickinger, Rev. D. D., quoted, 107. 
Frontier, men needed on the, 253. 

Gakst, Rev. H., quoted, 79. 
Grand Rapids, trial at, 333. 

Heaven, that better country, contents of, 359. 

Holmes, O. W., quoted, 19. 

Home, old— visit to, 314. 

Hope, Weaver a man of, 409. 

How to increase our membership, 142. 

Humor, manifested, 71. 

possessed a vein of, 410. 

Ignorance of people, 88. 

Illustrations, skillful use of, 417 

Immigrants, German, condition of, 22. 

Incident, an amusing, 95. 

Incident at General Conference, Toledo, 371. 

Independence, visit to, 231. 

Infidels required to keep silent, 65. 



Index 



475 



Investigation necessary, 134. 
Itinerant, sympathy with, 175. 
Itinerating in early times, 386. 

Johnson, m.. quoted, 31, 
Judgment, the— will sit, 90, 

Kansas, its future, 149. 
Keeping heart, 115. 
Kelton described, 213. 
Knowing in part, 297. 

Laboe, manual for college advocated, 83. 
Land, Beulah, a voice from, 326. 
Landis, Dr. J. P., quoted, 325. 
Language, used plain, 414. 
Lecture for G. A. P., 309. 
Letters, none kept. 400. 
Life in western Pennsylvania in 1778, 23. 
Life uncertain, 393. 

Lincoln, A., how he learned to demonstrate, 55. 
Look, a forward, 388. 

Man, Weaver a great, 403. 

McKee, Rev. W., response to "Weaver, 275. 

quoted, 329. 
Memories of the past, 257. 
Memory, a retentive, 416. 
Men, a good knowledge of, 421. 
Men, how to reach them, 174. 
Ministers, advice to, 394. 
Ministers, appealed to, 93. 

why not succeed better, 173. 

in Xorthwest District, letter to, 238. 
Minister, a young, in Pennsylvania, 23. 
Ministerial dead line, 378. 
Ministry, kind needed in the West, 274. 
Ministry, when to leave it, 270. 
Missionaries, plea for, 258, 
Mission Board, 391. 
More beyond, 320. 
Mother, Weaver's described, 28, 
Moving, keep, illustrated, 248. 
Music, instrumental, his opinion, 132. 

Xeed, Church's greatest, 237. 
Newspaper articles, some, 185. 

Oberein College, plan of, 82. 

Ohio District, report for 1874, 213. 

Omaha, what he saw there. 157. 

Order in the church, 69. 

Oregon, visits conference, 164. 

Otterbein University, helping to endow, 137. 

Our need, 245. 

Outlook articles, why written, 265. 
given in full, 307. 

Pamphlet written by Weaver, 328. 
Parkersburg Conference, appeal for, 205. 



476 



Index 



Parliamentarian, skillful, 426. 
Peace-loving nature, possessed a, 422. 
Pen, how he used his, 348. 
Philomath, beauty of, 167. 
Pioneers in Ohio, how they lived, 25. 
Preacher, a biblical, 412. 
Priest factory, circular concerning, 80. 
Progressive, 425. 
Providence, Divine, 350. 

importance of submitting to, 357. 



Railroad manager described, 180. 
Reading, how taught, 37. 
Rebellion, how treated, 311. 

Recommendations made by bishops at Fostoria, 296. 

Reformers defended, 304. 

Remarks made at Lebanon, 155. 

Reminiscences, 271, 370. 

Report, annual, for 1866, 129. 

Report of Northwest District, 1881, 247. 

Restoration, doctrines of, examined, 354. 

Resurrection, discourses on, first book, 349. 

Revival at Lisbon, 268. 



Sage, Rev. N. S., debate with Weaver, 195. 
Salary, ministerial, 354. 

Salem Church, Michigan, Weaver a witness, 331. 

Saturday evening at Elm wood, 232. 

Saved, nearly, illustrated, 244. 

Scholarship, mistake concerning, 85. 

School-houses, early, how made, 33. 

Schools in Connecticut, 39. 

Schools in Ohio, 32. 

School-mistress, a, in Connecticut, 39. 

Secret orders— no discrimination, 305. 

Secret societies, lectures, 135. 

Seeking Religion, 50. 

Sentiment, public, 131. 

Settlers, early— how they lived, 74. 

Skill to adapt himself, 408. 

Speaker, a ready extempore, 416. 

Starved out, 293. 

Stoneffer, Geo. D., quoted, 51. 

Student, a diligent, 413. 

Tastes, various kinds of, 126. 
Teachers in southwestern Ohio, 41. 
Telescope quoted,108. 
Temperance convention. 
Tennessee Conference, 179. 
Thanks tendered Weaver, 194. 
Theology, Christian, 362. 
Thinking better than reading, 67. 
Tribune, U. B., started, 259. 
Trustees not sufficiently helpful, 87. 

Union Biblical Seminary, why so named, 153. 
Universalism, false, 357. 

Vote taken in work of Commission, 327. 



Index 



477 



Weaver, his ancestry, 21; grandfather came from Germany, 22; 
birth of parents, 24; came to Ohio, 25; mother dies, 29; early 
schooling, 35; parents not Christians, 46; at camp-meeting, 48; 
converted, 50 ; licensed to exhort, 51; thirst for knowledge, 54; 
applied for license to preach, 60; first field of labor, 61; starting 
for his circuit, 62; marriage, assigned to New Rumley, 67; a de- 
scription of, 68; a meeting, 69; elected elder, 71; delegate to 
General Conference, 1857, 76; elected college agent, 77 ; canvassing 
for scholarships, fondness for writing, 89; moved to Wester- 
ville, 100; financial agent, 102; elected bishop for Pacific coast, 
117; elected bishop, 122; first conference held, 124; starts for the 
coast, 152; in Oregon, 168; debate with Davis, 191; third election, 
203; starts west again, 211; fourth election, 216; fifth election, 
235; "Slighted," 243; proposal to Dr. Davis for discussion, 263; 
holding meeting at Canal Dover, 270; sixty years old, 273; out- 
look, 280; sixth election, 296; called Commission, 299; sixty- 
two years old, 302; in luck at Lebanon, Ky., 312; vote taken, 
321; as a witness, 324; at Allegan, Mich., 331; chosen bishop 
emeritus, 343; using his pen, 347; seventieth anniversary, 368; 
joined Oak Street Church, 378; health failing, 375; growing 
worse, 401; died, 402; adaptation, 406; courageous, 407; humor- 
ous, 410; studious, 413; peace-loving, 422; progressive, 425. 



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